The worse-than-expected inflation report lowered chances of a May interest rate cut, which sent US equities plunging on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 427.32 points, or 1.10 percent, to 38,370.06 at 9:42 a.m. ET. The S&P 500 fell 66.94 points, or 1.33 percent, to 4,954.90, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 303.61 points, or 1.90 percent, to 15,638.94.
Opening at 4,967.94, the S&P 500 fell 53.90 points, or 1.07 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 343.67 points, or 2.16 percent, to 15,598.88.
Microsoft’s and Nvidia’s shares dropped 2.3% and 2.1%, respectively. Micron Technology, Advanced Micro Devices, and Broadcom are among the chip stocks that experienced a decline of 2.5–4.5 percent.
Coca-Cola’s stock increased by 1.2% as the company’s fourth-quarter sales exceeded forecasts. According to a Labor Department report, rising housing and healthcare costs in January caused US consumer prices to rise more than anticipated.
Treasury yields increased following the inflation data. Late on Tuesday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury increased to 4.25 percent from 4.18 percent. The yield during a two-year period increased from 4.47 to 4.57%. Tuesday’s Asian stock markets were neutral. The Nikkei 225 of Japan increased by 2.9% to 37,963.97.
China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index were closed for the vacation. At 12:24 GMT, Brent futures had gained 54 cents to $82.54 per barrel. At $77.42 a barrel, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude saw a 50-cent increase.
Tuesday saw an increase in gold prices. By 11:45 GMT, spot gold had increased by 0.4% to $2,027.99 an ounce. US gold futures were trading at $2,041.80, up 0.4%.
