NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell sharply Friday following Wall Street’s cold realization that inflation got worse last month, not better, as investors had been hoping.
The S&P 500 was 2.9% lower in afternoon trading and heading for its ninth losing week in the last 10, as Treasury yields soared to their highest levels in years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 830 points, or 2.6%, at 31,442 as of 1:15 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 3.5% lower.
Wall Street came into Friday hoping a highly anticipated report would show the worst inflation in generations slowed a touch last month and passed its peak. Instead, the U.S. government said inflation accelerated to 8.6% in May from 8.3% a month before.
