Stocks rally ahead of inflation data, Fed meeting

US stocks rallied on Monday morning ahead of a busy week for investors, with key inflation data and the Fed’s latest policy meeting of the year being the highlights.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) was up 0.2% in morning trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was up 0.3%, or nearly 120 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was up 0.1%.

All three major indexes ended with losses during Friday’s trading session, capping the worst week for equities since September. The S&P 500 fell 3.4% while the Dow fell 2.8%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 4% for that week.

Investors also kept an eye on oil early Monday, with WTI crude up 0.8% to $71.94 after crude stabilized at a new low for 2022 on Friday.

Government bond yields also eased slightly, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note at around 3.523% early Monday, down a couple of basis points from Friday’s settlement.

Wall Street braced for a busy week, as Tuesday’s consumer price data should help inform the expected trajectory of interest rates over the coming months.

Economists polled by Bloomberg estimate the headline CPI will rise 0.3% for the second month in a row, with the CPI falling 7.7% year-over-year to 7.3%.

The Fed will make its next interest rate decision on Wednesday following a two-day policy meeting, with investors expecting a 0.5% hike in the Fed’s key rate. Investors will be watching for any leads from part of the Fed and Chairman Jerome Powell on the path of interest rates going forward.

“We may get these higher interest rates a little higher than the market currently expects,” Thomas H. Lee Partners co-CEO Scott Sperling told Yahoo Finance Live on Friday. “And they could last longer than the market currently anticipates.”

In company news, Twitter Blue is expected to relaunch on Monday with a nearly 30% surcharge for iPhone owners. The service is still $8 a month, but it will be $11 for those who purchase the services through the App Store.

Shares of Horizon Therapeutics Public Limited Company (HZNP) jumped 14% on Monday after Amgen agreed to acquire the company in an all-cash deal valued at $27.8 billion, marking the biggest healthcare merger of the year , according to the Wall Street Journal.

Dani Romero is a Yahoo Finance reporter. Follow her on Twitter @daniromerotv

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