US close: Stocks fall on higher-than-expected inflation

Wall Street stocks finished in negative territory for yet another session on Wednesday, following the release of April's consumer price index.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.99% at 33,587.66, as the S&P 500 lost 2.14% to 4,063.04, and the Nasdaq Composite was 2.67% weaker at 13,031.68.

The Dow closed 681.5 points lower on Wednesday, extending losses recorded in the previous session despite big-name tech stocks staging a late reversal.

In focus on Wednesday was April's consumer price index, which rose 4.2% year-on-year, according to the Labor Department, ahead of estimates for a print of 3.6% and the fastest pace of acceleration since September 2008.

The monthly gain was 0.8%, well ahead of the 0.2% advance expected on the Street.

Base effects were seen as the principal reason for the increase, given that inflation was considerably lower at the same time in 2020.

That was because the Covid-19 pandemic led to a widespread shutdown of the US economy, meaning year-on-year comparisons will be distorted over the next few months as a result of the pandemic.

As a result, the Federal Reserve would likely dismiss the current round of numbers as being transitory, and expect inflation to settle to around the 2% being targeted by the central bank later in the year.

In equity markets, technology plays were again under pressure, with Alphabet down 3.02%, Microsoft falling 2.94%, Netflix losing 2.04%, Facebook off 1.3%, and Apple 2.49% lower.

Chipmakers Nvidia and AMD were also in the red, by 3.83% and 2.84% respectively, as were economic reopening plays such as Carnival, Boeing and United Airlines.

Cruise operator Carnival was down 4.25%, while aircraft maker Boeing lose 3.54% and legacy airline United descended 3.21%.

Dow Jones - Risers

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $78.00 0.70%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $107.37 0.63%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $230.94 0.00%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $58.41 -0.22%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $168.20 -0.40%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $54.04 -0.52%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $250.83 -0.58%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $157.45 -0.69%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $237.32 -0.83%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $317.00 -4.13%
Boeing Co. (BA) $220.78 -3.54%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $239.00 -2.94%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $133.39 -2.72%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $135.94 -2.59%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $53.62 -2.58%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $227.94 -2.53%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $122.77 -2.49%
3M Co. (MMM) $198.87 -2.38%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $210.54 -2.33%

S&P 500 - Risers

NortonLifeLock Inc. (NLOK) $25.03 7.19%
Perrigo Company plc (PRGO) $45.76 3.20%
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) $79.97 2.93%
Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) $32.10 2.69%
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $25.12 2.41%
Centene Corp. (CNC) $69.64 2.32%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $82.37 2.15%
Phillips 66 Common Stock (PSX) $85.34 2.04%
Cimarex Energy Co (XEC) $70.83 1.91%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $29.28 1.46%

S&P 500 - Fallers

TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $41.16 -9.44%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $32.46 -8.02%
Macerich Co (MAC) $13.03 -7.85%
D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $92.35 -7.28%
Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $96.13 -7.08%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $114.88 -7.02%
PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) $55.41 -6.94%
Affiliated Mgrs Group (AMG) $158.87 -6.32%
Svb Financial Group (SIVB) $547.27 -6.27%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $161.99 -6.04%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

NortonLifeLock Inc. (NLOK) $25.03 7.19%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $82.37 2.15%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $399.89 1.24%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $507.14 1.19%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $67.45 0.34%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $171.99 0.34%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $19.89 0.00%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $15.85 0.00%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $108.24 0.00%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $179.20 0.00%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $114.88 -7.02%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $12.95 -6.23%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $161.99 -6.04%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $557.67 -5.87%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,302.49 -5.71%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $64.38 -5.53%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $224.50 -5.23%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $76.80 -4.81%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $601.88 -4.56%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $286.74 -4.51%