Existing home sales climbed 2.2% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.24 million, according to the National Association of Realtors, the strongest pace since February 2024. Economists polled by Bloomberg expected existing home sales to hit a pace of 4.2 million in December.

U.S. stocks pulled back from their all-time high on Friday as they closed out a second straight winning week. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% a day after setting a record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 140 points,

And the Fed isn't alone in its concerns about inflation. Today's University of Michigan consumer sentiment data showed year-ahead inflation expectations jumped to 3.3% in January from 2.8% in December – the highest since May 2024. Long-term inflation expectations also rose, to 3.2% from 3.0%.

Wall Street is pointing slightly lower in early trading but is on track to close the week with solid gains on healthy quarterly earnings reports from large U.S. corporations