Inflation Prospects Spook Investors, Stocks Down



Stocks fell Tuesday, building on losses from the previous session as fears of even higher rates stoked recessionary fears.

The Dow Jones Industrials stumbled 135.46 points to 33,811.64.

The S&P 500 subtracted 32.29 points to 3,966.55.

The NASDAQ dropped 142.56 points, or 1.3%, to 11,097.38.

Better-than-expected November ISM Services data, which looks at the purchasing level of manufacturers as a gauge the health of the broader economy, pressured equities Monday. The report further fueled fears that the Federal Reserve will need to hike rates for longer than anticipated to bring down inflation.

Markets are largely expecting a 50-basis-point rate hike at the Fed’s December meeting, but remain conflicted over how long the central bank’s interest rate hiking campaign will need to last.

Meta Platforms’ stock shed 5% amid news that the company may pull news from Facebook if Congress passes a proposal that makes it easier for news organizations to negotiate with platforms sharing their content.

Netflix, Nvidia and Amazon all fell more than 1% each, while Tesla shed 2.8%.

Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained slightly, lowering yields to 3.57% from Monday’s 3.59%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices gave up 48 cents to $76.45 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices recovered $2.70 to $1,784.00 U.S. an ounce.