Here's Everything You Need To Know Today

As we fully ramp down into the last month of Q1, we're still in that moment of equilibrium where bulls and bears own the price action in equal measure. 

This week is mostly about the health of the American consumer as major retailers like Target and Costco report later on. We'll get employment and consumer credit data in the midst of all this too--but this week is more of a preamble to the CPI that will print next Tuesday. With PCE inflation coming in a little cooler in January, bulls are hoping that last month's slightly spicy inflation report was a brief fluke. This really really needs one critical inflation beat to keep going. 

At the same time, two months of higher-than-expected inflation can really shake the foundations of this rally. Until the data prints next week, gear up for nothing but volatility as traders hunt for alpha of any kind. 

So, let's try to make sense of the small pullback we're seeing in early trading with the most important headlines powering the price action today.