To markets already jolted by a downbeat August and desperate for more signs of the interest rate trajectory, good news was bad news and bad news was bad news.
"When you think of the economy, it's a Catch-22 for investors," Bryce Doty, a senior vice president and portfolio manager at Sit Investment Associates, said."If it looks like we're going to avoid the hard landing, we get some good economic news, and there's a sigh of relief quickly followed up by an increased expectation of Fed rate increases."But that couldn't save major indexes from a losing week. The S&P fell 1.3% and the Nasdaq lost 1.
This week looks to be different because there's no lack of heavy-hitting economic data, in the form of August's CPI report. But this time, any good news — in other words, lower-than-expected CPI — will be straightforwardly good.