Expected inflation and U.S. stock sector indices: A dynamic time-scale tale from inflationary and deflationary crisis periods

Abstract

This paper analyses the co-movement between changes in expected inflation and U.S. stock sector returns utilizing a wavelet local multiple correlation approach, which records temporal evolution and potential correlation dynamics at various frequencies. Using daily data from January 2, 2003 to December 30, 2022, we find insignificant correlations in the short term but heterogeneous correlations in longer time periods. After the deflationary GFC period, quantitative easing has turned the long-term correlation negative in some sectors, and since COVID-19, the correlation has been positive. However, energy and materials are pro-inflation sectors in the medium and long term.