Consumer prices, business confidence, Photronics earnings: 3 things to watch

By Liz Moyer

Investing.com -- Stocks were surging heading into the closing bell on Monday as investors looked to tomorrow's report on consumer prices for November.

The expectation is for inflation to cool from previous readings, while remaining elevated. Still, that would be good news for markets, which are also preparing to hear what the Federal Reserve has to say on Wednesday about interest rates and the economy.

The Fed's two-day meeting will end with its decision in the early afternoon, and then Chair Jerome Powell will answer reporters' questions. More important than the actual size of the interest rate move will be what Fed officials forecast for rates, unemployment and other metrics for the next few years.

Other central banks are following suit. Later this week, the European Central Bank and Bank of England are also expected to make their own moves on interest rates, as data on inflation in the U.K. is expected to cool slightly from the last reading.

In Washington, lawmakers are pressing to finalize a budget or at the very least put a temporary spending measure in place before the end of the week. If they miss their Friday deadline, the government could shift into a partial shutdown.

Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:

1. Consumer prices

The consumer price index for November is due out at 8:30 ET (13:30 GMT) and it is expected to rise 7.3% from the same month last year versus a 7.7% rise in October, and it is expected to rise 0.3% for the month. The core CPI, which excludes food and fuel, is expected to rise 6.1% from last year and 0.3% for the month. In October, annualized core CPI was up 6.3%.

2. Business confidence

At 6:00 ET, the National Federation of Independent Business releases its confidence report for November. The reading is expected to be 90.4 compared with 91.3 earlier.

3. Photronics earnings

Photronics Inc (NASDAQ:PLAB) is expected to report earnings per share of 48 cents on revenue of $210 million.

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