From Nasdaq.:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.28% and the S&P 500 was down 0.26%, after a hotter-than-expected producer prices report tempered market expectations of immediate interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Labor Department data showed U.S. producer prices rising more than expected in January, suggesting a potential increase in inflation.

Treasury yields surged after the report, reaching 4.306%. Concerns over inflation have been compounded by earlier stock market sell-offs fueled by an unexpectedly high consumer prices report. Hot inflation data could delay an interest rate cut until June, according to Cetera Investment Management Chief Market Strategist Brian Klimke.

Amid market decline, the Nasdaq is set to snap a five-week winning streak, while the benchmark S&P 500 also lost some steam this week after jumping over 5%. Promising corporate earnings and renewed excitement for AI’s potential have helped the S&P 500 close above the 5,000-point mark four times this year.

Megacap stocks mostly gave up early gains, with Meta Platforms falling 2.0% and dragging down the S&P 500 communication services index. However, Nvidia bucked the trend, ascending 0.9% after Oppenheimer raised its stock price target. Applied Materials, a semiconductor equipment supplier, saw shares leap 7.3% to a record high after Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush, forecast strong demand for AI chips.

The partial economic rebound has seen contradictory forecasts from U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers, with Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic predicting fewer rate cuts due to faltering inflation progress. On the market, declining issues outnumbered advancers, giving a 2.89-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 2.06-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded 30 new 52-week highs and 3 new lows, while the Nasdaq noted 47 new highs and 25 new lows.



Read more: US STOCKS-Wall St slips after hot producer prices data dents early rate-cut hopes