06:40 AM EST, 01/13/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity investors will focus on inflation this week as Friday's blowout jobs accelerated the move up Treasury yields toward levels where they could begin to challenge equity inflows and lofty mainstream benchmark levels.

* The consumer price index for December is due Wednesday, following the producer price index read on Tuesday. Apart from a year-over-year gain in the CPI to 2.9% from 2.7% in November, the remaining core and headline metrics will likely remain flat, Bloomberg-compiled data showed.

* "If estimates are on the mark, then this [CPI] report may reinforce sentiment that the [Federal Open Market Committee] is likely to remain on hold for some time," a Scotiabank note said late Friday.

* US equity indexes fell last week due mainly to a drubbing on Friday following the jobs data. Nonfarm payrolls rose 256,000, above the 165,000 increase expected and November's gain of 212,000. The unemployment rate fell by 10 basis points to 4.1%, compared with expectations for it to remain flat. Interest-rate sensitive sectors such as real estate and financials led decliners last week, as a strong jobs report justified the recent move higher in Treasury yields.

* The US 10-year Treasury yield touched a fresh 52-week intraday high of 4.896% early on Monday, after ending higher last week as the likelihood that the Fed will remain on a policy hold across all rate-setting meetings in 2025 jumped as per the FedWatch Tool.

* Meanwhile, mega-caps that begin reporting earnings this week include JPM Chase & Co. (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), and Morgan Stanley.

* This is also the last week before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration. Scotiabank said the "likelihood he acts fast to deliver executive orders on numerous policy matters possibly including tariffs" would keep investors glued to headlines. A case in point is West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures, which jumped 1.8% to $77.95 a barrel early Monday after the US unveiled new sanctions on Russia's energy sector.