Pooh says: Of course it matters. The numbers may not have direct impact the moment they are released. But if the inflation pressure keeping building it will eventually show up in the market. The instituional investors are not gods, they can't always manipulate the market as they wish.
Pooh, it would appear that you have a little more experience in the markets then some of the others here. This is of course Options expiration week (triple witch, right) Expect wild swings. Looks like the S&P want to move to 1525 where there is an open interest spike. If the market holds next week and pushes back to 1540, then whether it goes through will be critical. If i were holding long, which i am not, and we fail at 1540 again, i would certainly take that as a clue and get my ass out pronto, because that's going to be a very strong resistance point. Otherwise, well who knows. To any neophytes here i would remind that the object is to avoid large losses first, and not to try and squeeze every last dime out.