The slide continued on Wall Street Thursday with the major indices reversing early gains and posting losses for the day. The move was driven by better than expected GDP numbers early in the session but fear of rising inflation capped the gains and caused the late-day selling. As good as the GDP figures were they are rear-looking and ultimately underpin the need for aggressive FOMC rate hikes. The S&P finished the session near the lows of the day and poised to move lower should the PCE Price Index come in hot today.

Next week brings another round of earnings, the busiest of the reporting season so far, and the monthly read of the NFP data. The NFP should show another substantial increase in employment, a downtick in unemployment, and rising wages which also point to the need for a rate hike from the FOMC. The market is still expecting a single hike in March but there is risk of two or more hikes with inflation running as hot as it is.