U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 retreating from record highs, as inflation data came in slightly above expectations.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% to close at 5,780.05, while the Dow dropped 57.9 points, or 0.1%, finishing at 42,454.12. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.1%, ending the session at 18,282.1.
Wall Street’s decline followed the release of September’s consumer price index (CPI), which showed a 0.2% monthly increase, pushing the annual inflation rate to 2.4%, above the 2.3% forecast by analysts. This marked the lowest year-over-year inflation since February 2021, but still higher than expectations.
The market’s expectations for a 25 basis point cut at the next Fed meeting stand at roughly 85%, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.
The minutes from the Fed’s latest meeting, released on Wednesday, showed a “substantial majority” of participants supporting last month’s half-point rate cut, although some officials advocated for a smaller reduction.
In corporate news, Universal Insurance surged 12% as Hurricane Milton impacted Florida, while Pfizer saw a 3% decline after activist investor Starboard Value accused the company of threatening litigation against two former executives.
Meanwhile, Advanced Micro Devices dropped 4% after launching a new artificial intelligence chip to compete with Nvidia.
On the bond markets, 10-year and 2-year rates were at 4.067% and 3.961%, respectively.