US: Stocks tumble as inflation comes in hot again

WALL Street stocks finished an ugly session decisively lower Friday (Feb 24) after another round of hot inflation data exacerbated worries over monetary policy.

The Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation, the personal consumption expenditures price index, rose 5.4 per cent last month from January 2022.

The report is the latest indicator to suggest the central bank still faces significant challenges in addressing sticky pricing pressure.

The yield of the 10-year US Treasury note climbed closer to four per cent in a sign of rising expectations for more Fed interest rate hikes.

“It’s hard to suggest that this data is not concerning,” said Tom Cahill of Ventura Wealth Management, who questioned whether the Fed’s actions will “drive the economy into recession.”

The broad-based S&P 500 finished at 3,970.04, down 1.1 per cent for the day and 2.7 per cent for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.0 per cent to 32,816.92, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 1.7 per cent to 11,394.94.

Among individual companies, Boeing slumped nearly five per cent after it suspended deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner again.

The latest pause is a disappointment for the aerospace giant after it resumed deliveries of the jet in August, following a halt of more than a year.

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