EDITOR'S NOTE
Commodity prices are surging thanks to the accelerating economic recovery and unprecedented stimulus, but that could be bad news for consumer staples stocks.
Corn futures hit their highest level in more than seven years in volatile trading Monday, while copper climbed to a point not seen in nearly a decade. Many consumer companies came under pressure as the jump in commodity prices fueled fears of inflation. Commodities are a big portion of costs for consumer staples.
Shares of Procter & Gamble, Walmart and Coca-Cola led the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower on Monday. The S&P 500 eked out a small gain to hit another record, but the consumer staples sector underperformed significantly, falling 1.2%.
The Nasdaq Composite rose just shy of 0.9%. The Dow stumbled about 0.2% to land at 33,981.57. 
With the global economy gradually reopening, companies like Boeing, Ford and Caterpillar are expected to note cost pressures they are facing from rising materials and transportation prices when they release quarterly earnings this week.
Bank of America data showed the number of "inflation" mentions during earnings calls this reporting season has already tripled compared with last year, the biggest jump since 2004 when the bank started tracking the number.
"Inflation is arguably the biggest topic during this earnings season," Savita Subramanian, head of U.S. equity and quantitative strategy at Bank of America, said in a note. "Raw materials, transportation, labor, etc. were cited as major drivers of inflation and many plan to (or already did) raise prices to pass through higher costs."
Meanwhile, investors will turn to the Federal Reserve, which meets Tuesday and Wednesday, for reassurance that the pick-up in prices is only temporary. TOP NEWS
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