Indicators vs. Price Action: Still a Debate?

It's always fascinating to me how much weight people still put on economic indicators for day-to-day trading decisions, especially with the immediate algorithmic responses we see. We're about to get another round of CPI data, and everyone's going to be glued to the release, trying to front-run the market.

Don't get me wrong, understanding the macroeconomic picture is crucial for longer-term positioning and risk assessment. You need to know if we're in a tightening or easing cycle to properly size trades and manage exposure. But for short-term entries and exits, relying on NFP or CPI numbers feels a bit like driving by looking in the rearview mirror. The market's already priced in so much by the time the official numbers hit, and the subsequent moves often just shake out weak hands before reverting. I saw that yesterday with $KWEB, bouncing between 26.64 and 27.1 before settling at 27 +2.70%. Was that due to a specific data point, or just the intraday chop for that particular fund? My money's on the latter. I've always found price action and order flow to be a far more reliable guide for tactical plays. Am I completely off base here?