US stock indices slumped on Friday as AI worries dragged on tech stocks, while hotter-than-expected inflation data also dampened investor sentiments.
At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 245.6 points, or 0.50%, to 49253.57. The S&P 500 fell 52.3 points, or 0.76%, to 6856.54, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 263.0 points, or 1.15%, to 22615.429.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 0.5% after a revised 0.4% increase in December. An underlying gauge that excludes food and energy grew the most since July.
The latest inflation data reinforced bets that the Federal Reserve won’t cut rates any time soon.
“This morning’s inflation readings could give the Fed another reason to be more patient with rate cuts and wait until the second half of the year before making any changes,” said Chris Zaccarelli at Northlight Asset Management, according to Bloomberg.
Following the inflation data, the yield on 10-year Treasuries slid 3 basis points to 3.98%.
