Stocks sink once again as inflation worries mount

NEW YORK — Inflation worries rattled Wall Street on Wednesday, pulling the Dow Jones Industrial Average more than 680 points lower and placing the major stock indexes on track for their worst week in more than six months.

The selling came as investors reacted to a surprisingly big jump in inflation last month that stoked concerns that the economy may bounce back too fast from its pandemic-induced doldrums.

Tech giants, which had soared during the past year of lockdowns, took some of the biggest losses. Only energy stocks eked out a small gain.

Bond yields snapped higher after the government reported that consumer prices rose 0.8% in April, more than expected, and prices rose year-over-year at the fastest rate since 2008.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.69% from 1.62% a day earlier, a big move. Bond yields rise when investors fear that an increase in inflation will erode the future value of the income that bonds pay.

“Inflation and interest rate jitters are hitting the market today, but for now the sell-off has been orderly,” said Cliff Hodge, chief investment officer for Cornerstone Wealth.

The S&P 500 lost 89.06 points, or 2.1%, to 4,063.04, its biggest one-day drop since late February.

The Dow fell 681.50 points, or 2%, to 33,587.66, the worst decline for the blue chip index since late January. The Nasdaq gave up 357.75 points, or 2.7%, to 13,031.68. It was the tech-heavy index’s largest pullback since mid-march.

Small company stocks also gave up the most ground. The Russell 2000 index fell 71.85 points, or 3.3%, to 2,135.14.

The S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow are on track for their biggest weekly loss since Oct. 30. The Dow and S&P 500 had set all-time highs just last Friday.