Inflation is proving stickier than expected, which could cause Fed to hit pause button on more interest rate cuts.

U.S. stocks were surging on Wednesday morning as Treasury yields fell after core inflation data came in below expectations, boosting bets that the Federal Reserve will still be able to cut interest rates this year.

Federal Reserve officials at their meeting Dec. 17-18 expected to dial back the pace of interest rate cuts this year in the face of persistently elevated inflation and the threat of widespread tariffs and other potential policy changes.

Participants for the most part favored slowing the pace of rate cuts, after approving a 0.25% reduction last month, the third of the year and which, combined, brought interest rates down 1%. The Federal Reserve's committee's next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 28-29.

The Dow fell 600 points on Friday morning after new job reports surpassed expectations, and the Federal Reserve indicated that interest rate cuts may be postponed. Additionally, inflation remains a concern and is anticipated to stay high.

Inflation is still there, according to the December Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, with the annual rate marginally increasing to 2.9%. With economic uncertainty looming, concerns have been raised regarding the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy as core inflation,

The U.S. Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady on Jan. 29 and resume cutting in March, according to a slim majority of economists polled by Reuters, as policymakers digest an expected barrage of new economic policies from Washington.

Citi—which anticipates five rate cuts in 2025—has a downbeat forecast for a meager 0.7 percent growth. Bank of America is forecasting an above-consensus 2.4 percent growth for the year, hence their view for no rate cuts. ING, meanwhile, expects two percent growth.

Prices increased by 2.5% on an annual basis in December, down from 2.6% in November. Full coverage from the team at MoneyWeek.

A strong dollar makes money earned abroad worth less in dollar terms, raising the possibility that currency-translation effects might cause companies to miss Wall Street's targets for sales and earnings. At the very least, companies would not exceed those targets by as much as they otherwise would have.

The "Magnificent Seven" continue to dominate the investor landscape, but don't forget that there are 493 other names in the S&P 500 to take note of.