Tech, Consumer Discretionary Stocks Fall, Utilities Sector Outperforms On Surprisingly High Inflation, Jobless Claims Data

A hotter-than-expected September Consumer Price Index inflation report, combined with a surprising spike in weekly jobless claims, weighed on major stock indices in early New York trading Thursday, while sparking diverging performances among sectors.

Technology and consumer discretionary stocks led the declines, while utilities outperformed, with the latter rebounding from significant losses earlier in the week.

Inflation Tops Estimates, Claims Likely Affected By Hurricane Helene

The annual headline inflation rate dipped slightly from 2.5% in August to 2.4% in September, but came in above economist forecasts of 2.3%.

Despite this marking the sixth consecutive decline in annual inflation, core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy, rose unexpectedly from 3.2% to 3.3%, marking its first increase since March 2023.

Monthly inflation readings also came in slightly ...