T&G Market Recap: Inflation Taps the Brakes, Bank Titans Roar, and Stocks Party On 💸💥

Big CPI cool-down, Big Bank blowout — and the Dow dancing at center stage.

Markets turned into a blockbuster show Wednesday, popping champagne bottles over cooler inflation data while the biggest banks flexed their profit muscles. Traders swung from nail-biting to high-fiving in record time. Here’s the day’s highlight reel:

CPI Cools, Markets Drool 🤯

• The Numbers: Headline CPI for December clocked in at a still-hot 2.9% year-over-year, but core inflation (excluding food & gas) rose only 3.2%, snapping a four-month streak of 3.3%. That 0.1% drop triggered hallelujahs across trading floors.

• Why It Matters: This is the first evidence since summer that maybe, just maybe, we’re inching closer to the Fed’s 2% Nirvana. One decimal hardly seals the deal, but it’s enough to throw a midweek party on Wall Street. 🍾

Fed watchers are now more likely to bet on rate cuts this year. The 10-year yield sank 12 basis points to 4.66%. “From meltdown to mild breeze in a single print,” one bond trader quipped, as the yield slump catapulted equities. Because in 2025? Lower rates = stock euphoria. Or so the story goes.