An above-consensus core inflation print landed Friday morning. Consumer prices excluding food and energy came in hotter than expected. Stocks were still pointing toward a higher open on the combination.
Core inflation strips food and energy out of the consumer price index, setting those two categories aside because they carry the most short-run volatility. What remains is the underlying price trend, and that measure ran hot.
The tape's answer: a higher open. Futures held their positive posture through the report without giving ground on the above-consensus number.
Jim Cramer's top 10 things to watch in the Friday stock market session arrives against this backdrop. The list runs to 10 items, with the core inflation data release as the economic report framing the open.