With an unchanged PPI, the Fed’s near the finish line

Tesla’s Cybercab and Robovan
Tesla shares slumped 8.8% after the company’s “We, Robot” event disappointed investors. At the Thursday night event, CEO Elon Musk unveiled the Cybercab, a two-seater with no steering wheels or pedals, and the Robovan, an autonomous vehicle that has a big capacity. But Musk offered little other details, causing analysts to cast doubt on the company.

More assurances from China
In a press briefing held Saturday, Chinese Minister of Finance Lan Fo’an told reporters the space for Beijing to increase its budget deficit is “rather large,” but the government is still discussing stimulus plans, according to a CNBC translation of the Chinese. Lan also announced measures to support employment and the real estate industry.

Banks’ earnings in good shape
JPMorgan Chase, the biggest bank in the U.S., reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that beat estimates. Net interest income grew 3% from a year ago and helped revenue to increase 6%. Wells Fargo had a decent third quarter. The bank beat estimates for earnings, but unlike JPMorgan, revenue was below expectations and NII decreased.

[PRO] Earnings will show market direction
After the deluge of data such as September’s jobs reports and consumer price index report, earnings will determine the path of markets for the near term. Big banks dominate third-quarter reports this week. It’s Bank of America and Goldman Sachs’ turn on Tuesday, while Morgan Stanley announces its earnings on Wednesday.

With a snap of its fingers, the producer price index assuaged worries over inflation remaining stubborn. The index, which measures wholesale prices – and thus generally prefigures changes in the CPI – was unchanged in September from August, defying expectations from a Dow Jones survey of a 0.1% increase.

In fact, last week’s inflation figures looked so promising that Goldman Sachs think the Federal Reserve has just about brought inflation down to its 2% target without crashing the economy, as CNBC’s Jeff Cox reports.

While consumer sentiment dipped slightly in October, according to the University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumers, “long run business conditions lifted to its highest reading in six months,” wrote Joanne Hsu, the survey’s director.

JPMorgan Chase’s third-quarter earnings may be the first taste of that. The biggest bank in America beat estimates on both revenue and earnings. As banks generally reflect the health of the broader economy, it’s a signal things aren’t all bad despite dipping consumer confidence.

Admittedly, earnings reflect what has already happened. Investors care more about what’s going to happen. But consumers are “fine and on strong footing,” as JPMorgan’s CFO Jeremy Barnum told reporters.

Markets cheered the string of positive news.

On Friday, the S&P 500 added 0.61%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.97% and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.33%.

That capped off a winning week for Wall Street – their fifth in a row. The S&P and Nasdaq climbed 1.1%, while the Dow did a bit better with its 1.2% increase for the week.

“What we’re seeing … is a broadening of the market,” said Craig Sterling, head of U.S. equity research at Amundi US.

It’s a reminder that subduing inflation is just a stop toward investors’ real endgame of a healthy stock market.

– CNBC’s Jeff Cox, Samantha Subin and Brian Evans contributed to this story.