Inflation Jitters at Fever Pitch

Updated from 7:06 a.m. EDT

Easily distracted from strong corporate profits, investors are increasingly wearing their agita on their sleeves, anxious for the longest "eighth inning" in market history to end. Investors nervous over economic data and the Federal Reserve's plans face several key signposts this week, beginning with Tuesday's higher-than-expected producer price index report.

PPI rose 0.5% in March, reversing a 1.4% decline in February and higher than economists' consensus estimate for a rise of 0.4%. Stripping out food and energy prices, the so-called core PPI was up just 0.1% vs. expectations for a 0.2% gain.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said housing starts came in at an annual pace of 1.96 million units, down 7.8% from February. Building permits also fell, to a rate of 2.059 million. On average, economists had been forecasting starts at 2.025 million and permits at 2.10 million. ...