Slower Decline In Inflation Sparked a Sharp Selloff On Wall Street

Barry Adams
13 Feb, 2024
New York City

Benchmark indexes on Wall Street turned lower after a hotter-than-expected inflation report. 

The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.5% after consumer prices rose at a faster-than-expected pace in January. 

The yield on 2-year and 10-year Treasury notes advanced after inflation, and core inflation in January was ahead of market expectations. 

Consumer price inflation in January eased to a 3.1% annual pace in January from 3.4% in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. 

The decline in overall inflation was driven by the fall in energy price inflation by 4.6% from 2.0% in December, and food prices rose at a slower pace of 2.6% compared to 2.7% in the previous month. 

Compared to the previous month, consumer price inflation rose by 0.3%, the fastest pace of increase in four months. 

Core inflation, which excludes food and energy price inflation, held steady at an annual pace of 3.9% but rose to a monthly rate of 0.4%. 

 

U.S. indexes and yields

The S&P 500 index decreased 1.5% to 4,969.35, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.8% to 15,632.51.

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes advanced to 4.60%, 10-year Treasury notes increased to 4.28%, and 30-year Treasury bonds edged up to 4.43%.

WTI crude oil increased $0.63 to $77.52 a barrel, and natural gas prices declined 2 cents to $1.76 a thermal unit, a low last seen in September 2020.

Gold increased by $8.85 to $2,025.52 an ounce after the U.S. dollar gained in international trading.

The dollar index, which weighs the U.S. dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, edged lower to 103.97.

 

U.S. Stock Movers

The Coca-Cola Company gained 1.1% to $60.40 after the beverage maker reported mixed quarterly results in the fourth quarter. 

Revenue in the quarter rose to $10.85 billion after the company passed on higher prices to customers and bottlers. 

JetBlue Airways soared 13.2% to $6.82 after activist investor Carl Icahn reported a 10% stake in the company and added that the company's stock is undervalued. 

Zoominfo Technologies increased 16% to $18.40 after the market intelligence company reported better-than-expected quarterly results. 

Hasbro declined 5.8% to $48.30 after the toymaker reported sharply lower-than-expected earnings in the fourth quarter. 

Restaurant Brands International was nearly unchanged at $78.30 after the parent company of Tim Hortons reported better-than-expected quarterly results.