
Dow tumbles 500 points on hot inflation data
CNN
Stocks fell on Tuesday after fresh data revealed that inflation eased somewhat but stayed stubborn in January.
Stocks tumbled on Tuesday after fresh data revealed that inflation eased somewhat but stayed stubborn in January. That comes after the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Monday notched a record high close, while the S&P 500 retreated somewhat from a record high. The Dow slid 527 points, or 1.4%. The S&P 500 declined 1.4% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.7%. The Consumer Price Index revealed that prices rose by 3.1% for the 12 months ended in January, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Tuesday. On a monthly basis, CPI rose by 0.3% last month. Both measures came in hotter than expected: Economists expected inflation to ease to 0.2% from December and slow to 2.9% annually, according to FactSet. Traders now largely expect the Federal Reserve to first cut rates in June or July, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

President Donald Trump’s attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell are so commonplace at this point that they barely register in financial markets these days. The rapidly intensifying multi-pronged efforts by Trump’s advisers to amplify and expand on Trump’s attacks are a good reason to rethink that indifference.