U.S. Stocks Rocked By Hot Inflation Data, Fed Hike Fears
Prospect of more aggressive Federal Reserve spooks markets.

U.S. stock indexes fell on Thursday, with the Dow and the S&P 500 near two-year lows, after a bigger-than-expected rise in consumer prices last month sparked fears of another big rate hike from the Federal Reserve when it meets in November.
The headline consumer price index gained at an annual pace of 8.2% in September, compared with an estimated 8.1% rise. The reading was lower than an 8.3% increase in August.
Core CPI, which eliminates volatile food and fuel prices, gained 6.6% last month, compared with the estimates of a 6.5% increase. The reading was much higher than a 6.3% rise in August.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Be a smarter, better informed investor.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
"Both the headline and core CPI came in much higher than expectations, and that's disappointing," said Mace M. McCain, chief investment officer at Frost Investment Advisors.
"We would have hoped to see some moderation in inflation and we're not seeing that at this point. There's just nothing to dissuade the Fed from their path."
The inflation report follows data on Wednesday that showed U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in September, prompting Traders of U.S. interest-rate futures to price in a near 91% odds of a fourth straight 75-basis-point (bps) hike by the Fed at its meeting next month, with some also pricing in a 9% chance of a 100 bps rise.
Minutes from last month's central bank meeting showed policymakers agreed they needed to maintain a more restrictive policy stance, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell vowed that they would "keep at it until we're confident the job is done."
The Fed is showing no signs of a let up in its fight against inflation, leading to immense market volatility in recent months and triggering a selloff in rate-sensitive technology shares.
Megacap growth stocks such as Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc, Meta Platforms Inc, Alphabet Inc, Nvidia Corp, Tesla Inc, and Amazon.com slipped between 1.7% and 4.7% as the 10-year benchmark Treasury yield touched fresh 2008 highs at 4%.
At 10:07 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 183.99 points, or 0.63%, at 29,026.86, the S&P 500 was down 38.67 points, or 1.08%, at 3,538.36, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 186.08 points, or 1.79%, at 10,231.02.
Markets briefly rose earlier in the day after a report that the British government was discussing making changes to its fiscal plan that had spooked global financial markets when it was announced last month.
Third-quarter earnings reports will also help determine the impact of higher prices on company results, with analysts now expecting profit for S&P 500 companies to have risen just 4.1% from a year ago, much lower than an 11.1% increase expected at the start of July, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc rose 3.24% following better-than-estimated fourth-quarter results.
Delta Air Lines Inc gained 1.92% after the carrier forecast a 9% rise in fourth-quarter from the same period in 2019, helped by robust domestic and international demand.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 4.89-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and for a 3.39-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded no new 52-week high and 170 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 10 new highs and 514 new lows.
(Reuters Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar, Ankika Biswas and Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Anil D'Silva)
For more daily investing coverage, subscribe to our Closing Bell e-newsletter.
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.
-
IRS Names Its First CEO: But He’s Also Still Running Social Security
Tax News Will this new role make it difficult to address emerging issues like budget and staffing cuts and customer service concerns?
-
Ohio Property Tax Shock: Why Your New Assessment Is So High (And What Comes Next)
State Taxes Higher home valuations in Ohio have led to homeowner property tax relief. But is it enough?
-
S&P, Nasdaq Hit New Highs: Stock Market Today
A late-day rally wasn't enough to lift the Dow into the green as its six-session winning streak came to an end.
-
Dow Adds 238 Points as UNH, CAT Pop: Stock Market Today
The lack of a September jobs report didn't seem to worry market participants, with the data delayed due to the ongoing government shutdown.
-
Stocks at New Highs as Shutdown Drags On: Stock Market Today
The Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average all notched new record closes Thursday as tech stocks gained.
-
S&P 500 Sees New Highs on Shutdown Day: Stock Market Today
Most of its components were in the red, but the S&P 500 Index still managed to hit a new intraday all-time high.
-
Government Shutdown to Delay Data, Including Key Jobs Report
While government shutdowns typically don't impact stock returns, they can delay the release of key economic data – including the monthly jobs report.
-
Stocks Close September on a High Note: Stock Market Today
A little bit of late risk-on behavior was enough to lift stocks into the green on the last day of September.
-
Investors Take Stock of Shutdown Talk: Stock Market Today
Whether we'll have a Jobs Friday this week depends on if we have a government shutdown in Washington.
-
Dow Adds 300 Points, Ends Losing Streak: Stock Market Today
The Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq head into the weekend on high notes after posting gains for the first time since Monday.