The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up roughly 192 points today, as investors continued to prepare for a recession and the reading of a key inflation report tomorrow morning that has the potential to move the market.
Oil prices fell today as well, with Brent crude oil trading around $99 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude below $96, as of this writing, largely due to ongoing fears of a recessionary.
But the big thing investors are awaiting is the reading of the Consumer Price Index tomorrow morning, which will tell investors how much consumer prices rose in June. The CPI tracks the prices of a basket of consumer goods and services, and is one way investors measure inflation.
After a hotter-than-expected CPI reading for May, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark overnight lending rate by three-quarters of a percentage point. Currently, economists expect the CPI to rise 8.8% in June on a year-over-year basis. If that forecast comes true, there's a good chance the Fed will do another three-quarter percentage point rate hike at its meeting later this month. Despite the Dow's decline today, one stock flew past the broader index.
Continued momentum for this aircraft maker
Shares of the aviation and defense company Boeing (NYSE: BA) rose nearly 7.5% today, far outpacing any other stock in the Dow.
Investors poured into Boeing after new data showed that the company delivered 51 airplanes in June, the highest number of deliveries Boeing has completed since March 2019. The positive day now brings Boeing stock's gains over the past month to more than 27%, even though the shares are still down roughly 29% since the beginning of 2022.
The 51 plane deliveries included 43 planes that were the Boeing 737 MAX model, which had been grounded in 2019 after two fatal crashes put the company in hot water.
During the first six months of the year, Boeing delivered 216 jets, which is up 38% from the first six months of 2021.
Boeing has had good news in recent months, as defense spending has picked up, largely due to what is going on with Russia and Ukraine. Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) is also supposedly working with Boeing on a large order that could see the airline purchase as many as 100 planes.
Is Boeing a buy?
While a lot of good things have happened to Boeing recently, the company still has challenges ahead. For one the company is saddled with debt and has close to $58 billion of debt on its balance sheet.
The other issue is that Boeing is still trying to get its 737 MAX 10 model certified by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). If the FAA does not certify the plane by the end of the year, Boeing would have to spend potentially as much as $10 billion making modifications and redesigning the plane.
Investors might be hopeful that the company will receive certification, but Boeing is still very much in a fragile state. I don't own the stock, and while I'd suggest those who do can feel reasonably comfortable holding onto it, I wouldn't recommend buying right now.
