Stock Market Dips as Inflation Fears Rise

The stock market indices show a drop in the overall trading levels, with the three major indices all closing low Wednesday morning.

After a less than hopeful US Consumer Price Index report on Wednesday, the stock market took a tumble. The S&P 500 fell by 0.95%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.09%. Even the Nasdaq Composite was down by 0.84% as the trading session closed Wednesday evening.

Now, the markets are set to open low, with limited, slow trading brought on by increasing inflation fears. The US CPI numbers were worse than expected, and they revealed that the price of consumer goods increased by 0.4% from February. That means that there has been a 3.5% gain from March of last year.

The numbers for US CPI and Core CPI are higher than expected, and the data has only hurt the various markets and increased the fear that inflation is going to continue getting worse.

Will Fed Cuts Still Happen?

Most predictions say that the Federal Reserve will hold off on interest rate price cuts until at least June. If the inflation numbers stay hot, then it could be later than that. The Fed has been waiting to slash those rates, but they said they are trying to hold off until the inflation numbers look better.

The Federal Reserve minutes meeting for the month of March was held Wednesday as well in a very busy day for inflation news. According to the Federal Reserve, most officials believe it would be wise to cut interest rates soon. The rates are currently at 4.6%, which is much higher than it should be to promote a healthy buyers’ market.

Because the Fed has waited so long to cut those rates and has not been able to, they may not wait for the inflation milestones they had set. Previously, Fed officials said they wanted to wait until inflation was headed down toward 3%. We may not see that happen for a while.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR See More

Timothy St. John

Financial Writer - European & US Desks

Timothy St John is a seasoned financial analyst and writer, catering to the dynamic landscapes of the US and European markets. Boasting over a decade of extensive freelance writing experience, he has made significant contributions to reputable platforms such as Yahoo!Finance, business.com: Expert Business Advice, Tips, and Resources - Business.com, and numerous others. Timothy's expertise lies in in-depth research and comprehensive coverage of stock and cryptocurrency movements, coupled with a keen understanding of the economic factors influencing currency dynamics. Timothy majored in English at East Tennessee State University, and you can find him on LinkedIn.

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