NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks opened lower Wednesday following a report showing higher US inflation in January, dampening expectations for interest rate cuts.
The consumer price index edged up to 3.0 percent in January from a year ago, rising from 2.9 percent in December, above the 2.8 percent projected by economists.
Nationwide Chief Economist Kathy Bostjancic predicted the Federal Reserve will “remain on the sidelines” and not cut interest rates “at least through Q3 of this year” as a result of the shifting inflation picture.
About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.8 percent at 44,217.28.
Wall St muted as markets assess Powell’s remarks
The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.7 percent to 6,027.91, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.5 percent to 19,539.96.
The inflation figures came with Fed Chair Jerome Powell set for a second day of congressional testimony later on Wednesday.
Among individual companies, CVS Health shot up 14.2 percent following better-than-expected earnings. The pharmacy chain company projected higher profits in 2025 compared with last year.
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