As inflation data warms up more than expected, stocks fall, yields rise
Stocks fell in the United States on October 12 as newly released inflation data rose more than expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 173.73 points (0.51%) to 33,631.14. The S&P 500 declined 27.34 points (0.62%), ending the day at 4,349.61. The technology-heavy Nasdaq index lost 85.46 points (0.63%), to 13,574.22.
At 8:30 a.m. ET, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released consumer price data for September. This price showed an increase of 0.4% in the month and 3.7% in the year before October 1. That was up from 0.3% for the month and 3.6% for the year estimated by the Dow Jones. As traders try to control inflation, they interpret the higher-than-expected figure as a fair holding.
Despite this decline in the overall market, shares of some retail sector companies did exceptionally well. Walgreens rose 7% after reporting that its loss was not as high as previously expected, and Dollar General shares were up nearly 10% in the afternoon after the company announced that former CEO Todd Vassos would return to the company.
U.S. Treasury yields rose as traders digested the new inflation data. The 10-year note gained 0.102 points, reaching 4.699%. The two-year gained 0.066 points, increased to 5.071%.
Gold fell $6.52 to $1,868.93 a troy ounce. Gold has been on a trend since May 4th when it peaked at $2,060.60. Since then, concerns about rising interest rates and a stronger dollar have kept the yellow metal down.
Oil gained slightly on October 12, with West Texas Intermediate up one cent (0.012%) to $83.50 a barrel. Brent crude gained 0.56 (0.65%) to $86.38 per barrel.
In the foreign exchange market, the US dollar index rose 0.76 points to 106.58. The euro fell 0.85% to $1.0528. The yen fell by 0.47%, which caused the number of yen needed to buy one dollar to rise to 149.772. Many traders believe Japan's monetary authorities will intervene if that number rises above 150.
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Information for this news was obtained from Apmex, CNBC, MSN Money, Yahoo Finance and Business Insider.
