A lot for the Dow Jones to contend with today with US earnings and CPI in the spotlight

The Dow Jones was the best performing major US stock market index by the close last night. However, it was a choppy session all around and that saw the Dow swing in between positive and negative ahead of the close. The index recovered from an early fall to 42,157, to later close 221 points higher, at 42,518. There is a good deal for the index to contend with today though. We have the start of the US Q4, 2024 earnings season, with a plethora of Fed speakers and the all important US December CPI report. There will be more to add on the earnings front later this morning, as that all kicks off with a number of major US banks reporting from 11.10am GMT onwards. The CPI data will emerge ahead of the opening and that is likely to be the main event today. Right now that opening is set to be slightly higher, currently at around 42,550