S&P 500 ends higher as strong inflation data cements rate-hike bets

S&P 500 ends higher as strong inflation data cements rate-hike bets

By Noel Randewich

Fri September 11, 2026  

CPI data came in today showing a strong increase in prices reinforcing the high inflation scenario. After the selloff following the PPI data earlier that showed inflation hadn’t fallen, you would think that this strong inflation report would have caused another massive selloff. Instead, the opposite happened. All three indexes shot way up right out the gate and stayed up steadily all day long. It seems that it wasn’t the fear of a rate hike that had investors rattled, it was the uncertainty of whether there would a rate hike. Today the market decided that a rate hike next week is now inevitable with the odds climbing to a staggering 90% vs 70 yesterday and 49 a week ago.  

All week long investors have been so concerned about the rising cost of borrowing to run their businesses. Today, sentiment changed to the opposite – inflation must come down and an immediate rate hike is the way to do it. Suddenly a hike is very good news. Even all the big tech companies like Dell, Hewlett Packard, and Oracle which ordinarily would fall on rate hike news instead soared, each between 8 and 12%. As today’s expert put it, “The Fed will do the right thing and raise rates, and that is good at the margin for keeping inflation in check.” The VIX fell 2 points to a very normal 15.88 and the S&P, up 11% for the year yesterday, is up 12% today. Oil fell 3% to $104/barrel. Volume came in at 14.0 billion, a little below the 14.9 average. 

DJ: 52,064.10  -316.56        NAS: 26,081.73  -171.62        S&P: 7,591.70  -44.66           9/10

DJ: 52,573.29  +509.19       NAS: 26,333.04  +251.31       S&P: 7,656.98  +65.28            9/11

Fri 9-11-26 4:32 pm S&P 500 ends higher as strong inflation data cements rate-hike bets | Reuters