US stocks open lower as inflation data adds to rate-hike worries

Sept 30 – Wall Street’s main indexes opened lower on Friday as resilient core inflation in August stoked fears of more big-sized interest-rate hikes denting a rebound in consumer spending.

The S&P 500 was down 0.69%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 217 points, or 0.74%, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.59% lower.

Data showed the core personal consumption expenditures price index jumped 0.6% after being unchanged in July. It climbed 4.9% on a year-on-year basis in August after increasing 4.7% in July.

“What we need to see is decreasing inflation on a sequential basis and we’re just not seeing that yet,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth.

“This is not going to change that hawkish scenario that has been driving equities lower and why we’re getting the kind of reaction we’re seeing now.”

Wall Street has faced heavy losses in a tumultuous month on concerns of an economic downturn fueled by the Federal Reserve’s aggressive push to curb soaring prices.

Fed funds futures showed traders see a 68% chance of the U.S. central bank raising rates by 75 basis points at its November meeting, up from 61% odds before the inflation data.

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