The New York Stock Exchange was down Wednesday at the start of the session after US government figures showing a clear acceleration in inflation in the United States in April.
A few minutes after the open, the Dow Jones dropped 0.36% to 34,144.80 points, while the technology-intensive Nasdaq plunged 1.21% to 13,227.88 points, and the expanded S&P index 500 gave up 0.67% to 4,124.47 points.
Inflation, measured by the CPI consumer price index, reached 0.8% on the month in April, according to the labor department. Year over year, the price increase is 4.2%, the highest in 13 years. This figure surprised analysts who expected prices to rise only 0.2% for the month.
The day before Wall Street had finished in the red, already worried about the outlook for inflation.
The Dow Jones was down 1.36% to 34,270.35 points, its worst session since late February, and the S&P 500 widening index was down 0.87% at 4,152.10 points. The Nasdaq, which had started the free-fall session, finished close to balance, dropping just 0.09% to 4,152.10 points.
Yields on 10-year Treasuries climbed to 1.65% from 1.62% at the close the previous day.
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