PPI Shows Higher Wholesale Inflation; Meme Stocks Rule (Again)

Group 1: Economic Indicators - The Producer Price Index (PPI) for April increased by +0.5% month over month, surpassing the expected +0.3% and significantly higher than the revised -0.1% from the previous month [1] - Year over year, the PPI rose to +2.2%, marking a 40-basis-point increase from the revised +1.8% in March, indicating a notable rise in wholesale prices [1] - Core PPI, excluding food and gas, also came in at +0.5% month over month, exceeding the expected +0.2%, while the year-over-year core PPI decreased by 40 bps to +2.4% [2] Group 2: Market Reactions - Following the PPI report, pre-market futures turned negative, with major indices dropping, although the Dow managed to recover slightly after an initial drop of 120 points [3] - The 10-year and 2-year bond yields increased, now exceeding +4.5% and nearly +4.9%, respectively, reflecting market concerns over rising inflation [3] Group 3: Consumer Price Index (CPI) Expectations - The upcoming CPI report is anticipated to show a month-over-month increase of +0.4% and a year-over-year decrease to +3.4%, with core CPI expected to slim to +0.3% month over month and +3.6% year over year [4] Group 4: Stock Market Trends - Meme stocks are experiencing a resurgence, with Gamestop (GME) and AMC (AMC) seeing increases of +120% and +107%, respectively, while SunPower (SPWR) surged by +155% ahead of its earnings report [5]