The Week in Markets - An intermediate pull-back in the stock market’s primary bull trend is welcome and likely

The January core consumer price index rose 0.4% month/month, the highest reading since 1995 excluding the pandemic. The culprit was lodging (hotels and motels), which is unlikely to be repeated. Still the CPI reading may be an excuse for a pull-back in the S&P 500 index of in the high single digits or even low double-digits, even as the market is (we believe) in a primary bull trend. Vice President Kamala Harris said “I am ready to serve. There’s no question about that”. Her popularity is however as low as Biden’s. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said President Joe Biden’s age is a “legitimate” issue. She has an ardent fan base among the 400 superdelegates who will decide the Democrat candidate in August.