WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Wednesday amid a negative reaction to the latest inflation data. The major averages have all moved to the downside, adding to the modest losses posted in the previous session.
Currently, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 are just off their lows of the session. The Nasdaq is down 269.64 points or 1 percent at 26,934.74 and the S&P 500 is down 59.16 points or 0.8 percent at 7,746.29.
The narrower Dow is posting a more modest loss after seeing initial strength, with the blue chip index edging down 68.26 points or 0.1 percent to 51,601.84.
The weakness on Wall Street comes after the Labor Department released its closely watched report on consumer price inflation in the month of September.
While the report showed consumer prices grew in line with estimates, it also showed a bigger than expected increase in core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices.
The report said consumer prices climbed by 0.6 percent in September after rising by 0.4 percent in August. The increase in prices matched economist estimates.
The Labor Department also said the annual rate of consumer price growth jumped to 3.7 percent in September from 3.4 percent in August, which was also in line with expectations.
Meanwhile, the report said core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, rose by 0.3 percent for the second straight month. Economists had expected core prices to edge up by 0.2 percent.
The annual rate of core consumer price growth accelerated to 2.6 percent in September from 2.4 percent in August, coming in slightly above economist estimates for 2.5 percent growth.
The bigger than expected increase in core prices has led to renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve's next monetary policy meeting later this month.
According to CME Group's FedWatch Tool, the chances the Fed will raise rates by a quarter point have jumped to 43.7 percent following the data compared to 22.1 percent on Tuesday.
Sector News
Gold stocks have moved sharply lower along with the price of the precious metal, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 4.3 percent to its lowest intraday level in over two months.
Substantial weakness is also visible among airline stocks, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index plunging by 3.4 percent to a five-month intraday low.
Computer hardware, banking and housing stocks are also seeing significant weakness, while pharmaceutical, healthcare and biotechnology stocks are showing strong moves to the upside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slipped by 0.1 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.9 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.6 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.4 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.3 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have climbed well off their early lows but remain firmly negative. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 4.6 basis points at 5.263 percent.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
