• US stocks traded mixed Thursday following the hotter-than-expected December inflation report.
• The Consumer Price Index increased by 3.4% year-over-year in December.
• Trading kicked off on Thursday for a slew of spot bitcoin ETFs after the SEC's approval. 

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US stocks closed mixed on Thursday following the hotter-than-expected consumer price index report for December. 

Inflation accelerated by 3.4% in December on an annual basis, higher than the 3.1% rise in November and above the expected 3.2%. 

The data skews the view that the Federal Reserve is on the verge of cutting interest rates this quarter. Markets have been eyeing March for the first cut, but the latest inflation report could push that timeline out closer to mid-year.  

"We do not expect these numbers to have an impact on the Fed in the near term," said Eric Green, chief investment officer at Penn Capital Management. "However, we believe that this will reduce the odds of the six rate cuts that the market has priced into the market. The Fed has pushed back from market pricing and this should bring market expectations more in line with Fed expectations."

Investors will be monitoring Friday's Producer Price Index data for further clues. The Personal Consumption Expenditure report, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, is due out on January 26. 

Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester told Bloomberg on Thursday that rate cuts are not as imminent as markets may think.

"I think March is probably too early in my estimate for a rate decline because I think we need to see some more evidence," Mester said. "I think the December CPI report just shows there's more work to do, and that work is going to take restrictive monetary policy."

Meanwhile, following the SEC's long-awaited approval on Wednesday, spot bitcoin ETFs began trading on Thursday to wide fanfare. A report from Coindesk said that inflows into BlackRock's bitcoin fund hit $400 million in the first 30 minutes of trading. 

Here's where US indexes stood as the market closed at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday: 

• S&P 500: 4,780.24, down 0.07% 

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 37,711.02, up 0.04% (+15.29 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 14,970.18, up 0.01%

Here's what else is going on: 

• Shares of Tesla and Hertz dropped as the car-rental company backed down from its big bet on EVs.
• Iran said its navy seized an oil tanker involved in a US sanctions dispute.
• Russian energy revenue plummeted 24% in 2023.
• AMC Entertainment has dropped 99% from its meme-stock peak.
• Mike Novogratz sees a war between these three firms in the bitcoin ETF market.
• Critics are sounding the alarm on the approval of spot bitcoin ETFs. 
• BlackRock's Rick Rieder said stocks could surge 12% this year.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto: 

• Oil prices climbed, with West Texas Intermediate up 1.26% to $72.27 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, moved higher 1.2% to $77.73 a barrel.
• Gold edged higher to $2,030.90 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield moved lower four basis points to hover at 3.983%.
• Bitcoin climbed 2.41% to $46,948.