Wall Street closed lower on Wednesday with the S&P suffering its biggest one-day percentage drop since February, as inflation data fueled concerns over …
Wall Street closed lower on Wednesday with the S&P suffering its biggest one-day percentage drop since February, as inflation data fueled concerns over whether interest rate hikes from the Fed could happen sooner than anticipated. All three major U.S. stock indexes ended the session deep in the red following the Labor Department’s April consumer prices report, which showed the biggest rise in nearly 12 years. The report was hotly anticipated by market participants who have grown increasingly worried over whether current price jumps will defy the U.S. Federal Reserve’s reassurances by morphing into long-term inflation. But pent-up demand from consumers flush with stimulus and savings is colliding with a supply drought, sending commodity prices spiking, while a labor shortage drives wages higher. “The topic on everyone’s mind is obviously inflation,” said Matthew Keator, managing partner in the Keator Group, a wealth management firm in Lenox, Massachusetts. “It’s something the (Fed) has been looking for and they’re finally getting their wish.
