"Uncertainty looms as Fed considers interest rate pause amid critical week for stock market"

Next week is critical for the stock market as investors brace for CPI data and a Federal Reserve meeting. Fundstrat's Tom Lee said a low inflation reading could boost stocks as it would bolster a Fed pause in interest rate hikes. Lee is confident that inflation is tracking lower than consensus based on real-time measures of CPI, and that inflation is actually nearing the Fed's long-term target of 2%. Bolstering Lee's bullish case is the fact that market breadth is beginning to expand, which is a healthy sign for the sustainability of the current rally.