The New York Stock Exchange opened slightly higher on Monday, at the start of what promises to be a tricky week, with the release of much-anticipated inflation data and the kick-off of quarterly earnings.

In late morning trading, the Dow Jones advanced 0.4% to 38,975.2 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.4% to 16,308.1 points.308.1 points.

Today's trading session is likely to remain quiet, due to a light agenda in terms of both corporate announcements and economic indicators, but the next few days are likely to be much more intense.

The start of the corporate earnings season at the end of the week should give the markets a chance to shake off their torpor.

As usual, the big banking groups will kick off the earnings season on Friday, with announcements from JPMorgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo.

Given that the US financial sector has been one of Wall Street's big winners this year - with a gain of over 10% since January 1 - this earnings season will be a real test.

The risk of a possible reawakening of inflation, likely to delay the Fed's first hikes, should also continue to be the common thread running through the markets.

Investors are hoping that the consumer price index (CPI) data for November, due on Wednesday, will illustrate a slowdown in inflation in March.

'Since the beginning of the year, the core CPI index has turned out to be higher than expected', recalls Jim Reid, market analyst at Deutsche Bank. But for the time being, the Fed has not been too alarmed by this," adds the professional.

"But this week's publication will be the focus of attention, as a third month of higher-than-expected inflation would call into question the fact that this is only a temporary upturn," warns Jim Reid.

On the stock front, Tesla rebounded by more than 4% after dropping by more than 3% on Friday on rumors of an abandonment of the development of its entry-level model, as investors welcomed the mention of a new project: the 'Robotaxi' driverless vehicle.

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