Consumer Price Index showed an acceleration to 2.9%, the highest rate since July. With such high inflation, the Fed is unlikely to cut rates in January.

Inflation is proving stickier than expected, which could cause Fed to hit pause button on more interest rate cuts.

Consumer price index data for December showed that core price pressures eased more than expected. S&P 500 futures rose as Wall Street weighed the CPI's implications for Federal Reserve policy as well as positive earnings reports from Dow Jones giants JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs.

If year-on-year total and core CPI consumer inflation rates accelerate, financial markets risk turbulence as investors’ 2025 interest rate cut expectations fall further.