The major equity indexes continue to trade in a narrow range this week. S&P 500 adding 1% as stellar earnings reports helped investors shrug off concerns over the Delta variant impact.

A Stronger-than-expected jobs report brought the inflation debate back into focus on Friday. The U.S. economy generated 943,000 new jobs in July, the largest monthly gain in 11 months.

The employment report also showed strong wage gains as employers competed for scarce workers.

With U.S. unemployment now at 5.4%, investors will likely be transfixed by any suggestions of a stimulus reduction going forward.

The $1.2 Trillion infrastructure bill had a hidden surprise for the Crypto market this week. The bill outlined provisions to expand the reporting requirements to the IRS. The goal is to use the $28 Billion raised through tighter Crypto regulation to help pay for some of the bill.

Despite this, Bitcoin extended its recent positive run, rising above $45,000 on Monday afternoon. The cryptocurrency’s price is now up more than 50% from its recent lows.

Market Outlook

Stocks fell in early trading today. Positive earnings reports were not enough to maintain all-time high numbers as rising COVID-19 cases, inflation and economic growth all weighed on investor sentiment.

This week will be the most important of the entire earnings season as all of Big Tech, which makes up over one-fifth of the S&P 500 index, will give investors a peek into their books.

Consumer Price Index

CPI (consumer price index) measures inflation in the economy. It does this by measuring changes in the price level of a weighted average market basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households.

This figure has become increasingly relevant as a significant inflation pick-up could result in a sudden tapering in monetary policy and a reduction in government-led stimulus.

The FED and many market participants believe inflation to be transitory, but others are not so optimistic.

July’s CPI information being announced tomorrow will give us an insight into who has the upper hand in this polarizing inflation debate.