Equities markets stumbled and bounced from support last week as earnings season rolls on. The week's news is that earnings are better than expected, and core consumer inflation cooled a tenth compared to the previous month. The sad news is that PCE prices fell 0.1% compared to an upwardly revised figure and are hotter than expected. In this light, the FOMC may be unable to ease back on interest rate hikes, although they have indicated the next meeting would be the last hike for 2023.

This week brings another round of earnings reports and key economic data. Topping the list of economic releases is the NFP report on Friday, followed by the ISM reports and construction spending. These data points are expected to confirm the slowing in the economy seen in other data points. Among the most troubling is the Index of Leading Indicators, which has been negative for more than a year and is trending deeper into negative territory.