A lower-than-expected inflation report for June caused wild market reactions, leading to a surge in traders’ expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts and boosting assets that are particularly sensitive to high interest rates. As the annual inflation rate slowed from 3.3% to 3%, below the predicted 3.1%, and the monthly reading indicated the first contraction (-0.1%) in four years, traders swiftly increased their odds of a September rate cut, now placing a 92% chance. Surprisingly, large-cap indices such as the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index fell, dropping 0.9% and 2.1% respectively, with the latter eyeing its worst daily performance of 2024, previously seen on April 30. These reactions suggest that market participants had likely already priced in rate cut expectations into tech stock valuations and are now rotating from top-performing sectors to laggards. The outperformance of the S&P 500 real estate sector over tech by more than 5 ...