What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after an unexpectedly sharp rise in wholesale inflation fueled concerns about rising costs and their impact on corporate profits. The primary catalyst was the July 2025 Producer Price Index (PPI), a measure of inflation at the wholesale level, which jumped 0.9% against forecasts of a 0.2% rise. This represents the most significant monthly increase in over three years, pointing to mounting cost pressures for manufacturers, with tariffs cited as a key factor. This data complicates the Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decisions, as persistent inflation may prevent rate cuts, creating a headwind for cyclical sectors like Industrials.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Commercial Building Products company Janus (NYSE: JBI) fell 3.1%. Is now the time to buy Janus? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Water Infrastructure company Tennant (NYSE: TNC) fell 3.1%. Is now the time to buy Tennant? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Engineered Components and Systems company ESCO (NYSE: ESE) fell 3.3%. Is now the time to buy ESCO? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Engineered Components and Systems company Enpro (NYSE: NPO) fell 3.4%. Is now the time to buy Enpro? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Specialty Equipment Distributors company Richardson Electronics (NASDAQ: RELL) fell 3.4%. Is now the time to buy Richardson Electronics? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Enpro (NPO)
Enpro’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 9 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
Enpro is up 32.7% since the beginning of the year, and at $224.54 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $231.56 from August 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Enpro’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $3,821.
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