Bloombeg: In his first address to Congress, President Donald Trump struck a conciliatory tone, urging Americans to set aside conflict. The speech, however, was short on the policy details that some investors were hoping for, with the president opting for broad promises — »I am going to bring back millions of jobs » — rather than specifics. While U.S. stock futures pared their gains slightly while Trump was on his feet, markets were generally unmoved by the rhetoric.

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A government report that tracks consumer spending showed a modest increase of 0.2% last month, with incomes rising even faster at 0.4%. Economists polled by MarketWatch has forecast a 0.4% gain in spending.

Yet an inflation index known as PCE also jumped 0.4% in January, pushing the increase over the last 12 months to 1.9% from 1.6% in December.

That matches the highest year-over-year level since October 2012.

The PCE index is the preferred tool for the Federal Reserve to measure inflation. The rate of inflation is now close to the Fed’s 2% long-term target, and if it keeps moving higher, the central bank could raise interest rates more aggressively.

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