Stocks take a hit as trading opens Wednesday, spooked by inflation data

(May 12) Stocks take a hit as trading opens Wednesday, spooked by inflation data. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 150 points, following its worst day since February. The S&P 500 lost 0.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid more than 1%.

Inflation acceleratedat its fastest pace since 2008 last month with the Consumer Price Index spiking 4.2% from a year ago, compared to the Dow Jones estimate for a 3.6% increase. The monthly gain was 0.8%, versus the expected 0.2%.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the core CPI increased 3% from the same period in 2020 and 0.9% on a monthly basis. The respective estimates were 2.3% and 0.3%.

“The markets have been hovering around all times highs with a lot of the reopening trade already priced in. So it’s not out of the question that the outsized inflation read could bring us back down to earth a bit,” said Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E-Trade.

"Keep in mind the Fed has made it clear that it won't let inflation increases necessarily sway it from its easy money policies and further any jumps like this could be transitory. So is this a trend? That remains to be seen," Loewengart said.

Tech shares, which have been under pressure this week and this month, were falling in the premarket again Wednesday. Shares of Alphabet, Microsoft, Netflix, Facebook and Apple all traded in the red, while shares of chipmakers Nvidia and AMD were also lower in the premarket.

Shares tied to the reopening also fell in the premarket. Carnival Corp, Boeing and United Airlines were lower in premarket trading.

The strength in bank stocks and energy shares in premarket helped support the broader market. JPMorgan rose 1%, while Occidental Petroleum climbed 1.4%. Chevron also traded higher.

The technology sector pulled off a big intraday reversal in the previous session where the Nasdaq Composite erased a loss north of 2% and ended the day flat. The blue-chip Dow, however, lost more than 450 points to suffer its worst day since February. The S&P 500 slipped 0.9%, but avoided its second straight 1% loss.

The Technology Select Sector SPDR is off by more than 1% this week and 3% this month, as investors reassess the group's high valuations in the face of rising inflation.

During Tuesday's session, theCBOE Volatility Index, a measure of fear in the markets derived by option prices on the S&P 500, jumped as high as 23.73, levels not seen in two months. The VIX was higher in early trading Wednesday.