US open: Stocks head south as CPI comes in hotter than expected

US stocks were in the red at the open on Thursday as investors digested a hotter-than-expected CPI report from the Labor Department.

At 1445 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.71% at 28,711.47, while the S&P 500 was 2.20% weaker at 3,498.29 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 3.04% softer at 10,100.42.

The Dow opened 499.38 points lower on Thursday, extending losses recorded in the previous session after minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting suggested that policymakers will look to keep hiking interest rates until inflation recedes.

Thursday's primary focus will be September's CPI reading, which revealed the cost of living in the US edged past forecasts last month at both the headline and so-called core levels.

According to the Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms, the US consumer price index increased by 0.4% month-on-month and at an annual clip of 8.2%. Economists had pencilled-in a 0.2% rise on the month and a year-on-year increase of 8.1%. At the core level, which excludes the often-volatile food and energy price components, CPI was up by 6.6% year-on-year.

Elsewhere, Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at an accelerated clip in the week ended 8 October, according to the Department of Labor, with the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims rising by 9,000 week-on-week to 228,000. The four-week moving average came to 211,500, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 206,500.

In the corporate space, drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance posted fourth-quarter earnings per share that beat forecasts and revenues that come in at the top end of analysts' expectations. Walgreens Boots reported quarterly earnings per share of $0.80 each and revenues of $32.45bn, beating expectations of $0.77 per share and $32.09bn, respectively.

Elsewhere, Delta Air Lines posted record revenues as the recovery in domestic and international air travel continued. Q3 adjusted operating revenues came in at $12.84bn, up 3% on the same quarter a year earlier, while diluted earnings per share fell 35% to $1.51.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com