Stocks Plunge Ahead Of Tuesday's Big Inflation Print

 | Apr 12, 2022 01:11AM ET

Stocks fell sharply on Monday, the day before the giant CPI print and the Fed’s Brainard Q&A session. The CPI print, although important, will not influence what the Fed does unless it is materially hotter than the already 8.4% y/y estimate. What Brainard says will likely have a more significant impact, especially if she continues her hawkish tone from last week.

I wouldn’t be surprised if she is even more hawkish than last week. The Fed wants financial conditions to tighten, and they haven’t tightened anywhere close to where the Fed wants them to be. Inflation will not get anywhere close to coming under control until conditions tighten to neutral or above. So the real risk is that she is more hawkish than previously.