The U.S. stock market has been on fire lately. The S&P 500, a widely used measure of the market's performance, briefly touched 5,000 for the first time a few days ago, driven by three main factors: Strong sales of drugs for obesity, soaring demand for semiconductors that can handle generative artificial intelligence workloads, and the anticipation that the Federal Reserve would lower interest rates in early summer.

However, the market took a hit on Tuesday after the U.S. Labor Department reported a higher-than-expected inflation rate for January, raising concerns that the Fed may postpone its rate cut and that inflation may be picking up speed. The Fed's policymakers will probably want to see more data on inflation in the next few months before deciding to adjust interest rates downward.

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Source Fool.com