US close: Stocks head south following hotter-than-expected CPI reading

10th Nov 2026 21:59

(Sharecast News) - Major indices were in the red at the close of trading on Tuesday as investors digested a hotter-than-expected inflation reading and assessed fresh comments from Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller, who signalled that further monetary tightening remains on the table.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.30% at 52,231.89, while the S&P 500 shed 0.38% to 7,520.93 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.74% softer at 25,065.87.

The Dow closed 157.86 points lower on Tuesday, off session lows but still taking a bite out of gains recorded in the previous session.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics' closely watched consumer price index rose less sharply in October, offering some relief after September's reading but still coming in stronger-than-expected as higher food and energy costs continued to put pressure on households. The BLS' headline consumer price index increased 0.4% month-on-month in October, slowing from September's 0.6% rise, while core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy costs, rose 0.3%, matching the pace seen in both August and September. Economists expected to see headline inflation rise 0.3% month-on-month last month, slowing from September's 0.6% increase. Core inflation was forecast to increase 0.2%, compared with 0.3% in the prior month.

Housing costs remained a key driver of inflation, with the shelter index rising 0.3% and accounting for more than 30% of the monthly increase in headline prices, while food prices rose 0.5%, with grocery prices up 0.4% and food away from home also increasing 0.5%. Energy prices increased 0.7% during the month, following a 5.2% jump in September. Petrol prices rose 1%, while electricity costs increased 0.9%, partially offset by a 0.8% decline in natural gas prices.

Treasury yields moved higher following the report as traders, with traders growing conerned that interest rate increases were now more likely to take place before the end of the year, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note up more than nine basis points at the end of the session to settle at 4.986%.

October's CPI reading came hot on the heels of comments from Christopher Waller, who said he was leaning towards supporting an interest rate increase at the Fed's December meeting, citing persistent inflationary pressures. The policymaker also indicated he would be open to a larger-than-expected 50 basis point move should inflation data come in above forecasts, warning that a smaller increase could risk damaging the central bank's credibility.

Elsewhere on the macro front, the National Federation of Independent Business' small business optimism index edged down to 97.8 in October from 97.9 in September, marking its lowest reading since June but coming in broadly in line with expectations. The NFIB said sentiment among small business owners was little changed during the month as firms continued to grapple with ongoing challenges. Labour availability remained the biggest concern for a fourth consecutive month, although the proportion of owners citing labour quality or availability as their most significant operating problem eased by one percentage point to 25%. Taxation concerns, however, increased notably, with 21% of respondents identifying taxes as their single biggest issue, the highest proportion recorded since May 2021.

In the corporate space, cloud infrastructure technology firm CoreWeave topped Wall Street expectations with its latest quarterly revenues, fuelled by solid demand for its cloud services. CoreWeave posted revenues of $3.66bn, up from $1.37bn twelve months earlier and ahead of estimates of $3.55bn. It also hiked its full-year revenue forecast to between $13bn and $13.3bn, up from $12.4bn to $13.2bn.

On another note, Nvidia weighed heavily on Wall Street indices, falling more than 5% after chief executive Jensen Huang's admission to an affair with an alleged Chinese spy.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $98.15 2.54%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $58.13 2.14%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $465.23 1.90%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $405.12 1.89%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $31.48 1.68%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $400.78 1.41%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $96.91 0.92%

Boeing Co. (BA) $173.38 0.58%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $46.31 0.54%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $910.19 0.44%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Nike Inc. (NKE) $38.67 -3.03%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $584.57 -2.39%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $533.16 -2.38%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $351.00 -0.68%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $213.48 -0.68%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $244.53 -0.64%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $148.05 -0.48%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $280.78 -0.47%

American Express Co. (AXP) $323.46 -0.26%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $348.51 -0.19%

S&P 500 - Risers

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $134.06 11.45%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $222.39 8.48%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $331.98 7.86%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $501.62 7.61%

KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $152.99 7.51%

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $515.21 7.25%

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $140.83 6.69%

Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $300.52 6.54%

Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $69.49 6.40%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $289.20 6.05%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $32.56 -8.62%

Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $5.16 -5.49%

Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $86.66 -5.37%

Under Armour, Inc. (UA) $5.00 -5.30%

Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) $30.31 -4.95%

Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $50.21 -4.29%

Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $94.93 -4.23%

Newmont Corporation (NEM) $119.96 -4.15%

Boston Properties Inc. (BXP) $63.54 -4.00%

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $253.77 -3.97%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $134.06 11.45%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $222.39 8.48%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $331.98 7.86%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $501.62 7.61%

KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $152.99 7.51%

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $140.83 6.69%

Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $300.52 6.54%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $289.20 6.05%

QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $173.53 5.18%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $372.53 4.31%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.34 -13.49%

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $253.77 -3.97%

Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $159.26 -2.45%

Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $188.89 -2.42%

Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,490.24 -2.38%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $533.16 -2.38%

Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $284.92 -2.31%

Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $287.38 -1.95%

Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $58.78 -1.84%

Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $270.87 -1.35%