US close: Stocks slide as hotter CPI, chip‑sector weakness weigh on sentiment

14th Oct 2026 22:47

(Sharecast News) - Major indices closed lower on Wednesday as traders digested September's consumer price report and another batch of bank earnings.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.09% at 51,621.48, while the S&P 500 shed 1.11% to 7,718.94 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.88% weaker at 26,692.87.

The Dow closed 48.62 points lower on Wednesday, extending losses recorded in the previous session as third-quarter earnings began to roll in.

Earnings were still in focus on Wednesday as Bank of America reported a weaker third quarter as a $1.2bn Treasury penalty dragged profits down 17% to $6.93bn, with earnings of $0.91 a share falling short of expectations and revenue rising 3.2% to $30.12bn, below forecasts after softer trading income, while BlackRock delivered a far stronger performance, pulling in $205bn of new client money as revenue jumped 19% year‑on‑year and assets under management hit a record $15.5trn, driven by $135bn of ETF inflows and $66bn into active strategies as the firm pushes deeper into higher‑fee private markets.

Morgan Stanley also delivered a solid third‑quarter beat before the open, posting earnings of $3.03 per share against the $2.91 expected and revenues of $20.34bn, ahead of the $19.95bn consensus. The bank benefited from the same strength in investment banking and equities trading that lifted results at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan earlier in the week.

Chip stocks also weighed on indices, adding to their recent declines, with Micron Technology dropping 4% on Wednesday, while Advanced Micro Devices and Sandisk both shed more than 5%, and Intel lost 4%.

Outside of company headlines, Wednesday's primary focus was news that US consumer prices rose 0.6% month-on-month in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, accelerating from August's 0.4% gain. Gasoline was the main driver, jumping 9.1% and contributing more than half of the monthly rise. The broader energy index climbed 5.2%. Shelter costs increased 0.4%, while food prices were flat overall, with a 0.2% rise in food away from home offset by a 0.1% decline in food at home.

Core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.3%, matching August's increase. Gains were recorded in recreation, used vehicles, education, airline fares, medical care and apparel, while communication was among the few categories to decline. Over the past year, headline CPI advanced 3.7%, while core inflation stood at 2.6%, up from 2.4% in August. Energy prices surged 20.4% year‑on‑year, driven by a 34.2% jump in gasoline and food prices increased 2.5% over the same period.

Elsewhere on the macro front, US mortgage applications fell by 2.7% in the week ended 9 October, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. Last week's drop marked the sixth consecutive decline to the lowest level since January 2025 and comes alongside a sharp increase in mortgage rates, with the benchmark 30-year fixed rate hitting an almost three-year high of 7.5%. Applications to refinance a mortgage, which are more sensitive to short-term changes in interest rate, fell by 0.45% week-on-week, while applications to purchase a home dipped 0.40%.

Oil prices were higher following the CPI print, with West Texas Intermediate up 1.01% at $95.09 a barrel and Brent crude futures 0.38% higher at $106.09 a barrel, extending a run of strength driven by tight supply and geopolitical risks.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $395.62 4.73%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $147.37 3.79%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $426.11 2.58%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $29.19 2.39%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $156.53 2.27%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $253.91 2.13%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $44.42 2.04%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $222.04 1.93%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $91.78 1.85%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $377.82 1.22%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $748.98 -3.08%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $533.69 -2.87%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $98.12 -2.02%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $878.72 -1.48%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $227.88 -1.26%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $113.64 -1.23%

Visa Inc. (V) $391.43 -1.17%

Boeing Co. (BA) $184.66 -0.98%

American Express Co. (AXP) $306.95 -0.94%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $235.95 -0.87%

S&P 500 - Risers

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (BBWI) $18.95 5.28%

H&R Block Inc. (HRB) $46.02 5.00%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $395.62 4.73%

Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) $59.28 4.61%

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $592.42 4.40%

Dollar General Corp (DG) $129.94 3.95%

Kroger Co. (KR) $63.09 3.87%

Universal Health Services Inc. (UHS) $185.89 3.84%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $147.37 3.79%

Perrigo Company plc (PRGO) $15.95 3.77%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $91.71 -10.51%

Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $130.55 -8.89%

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

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $63.11 -8.28%

NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $222.20 -7.55%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $446.63 -6.95%

Fortinet Inc. (FTNT) $184.05 -6.57%

American Airlines Group (AAL) $11.79 -6.02%

NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $100.85 -5.91%

Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $46.04 -5.87%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $592.42 4.40%

T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $157.79 2.96%

Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $153.54 2.91%

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $121.76 2.63%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $426.11 2.58%

Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $108.37 2.54%

Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $982.00 2.12%

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $778.36 2.04%

Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $230.57 1.85%

Incyte Corp. (INCY) $111.57 1.81%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

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

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $446.63 -6.95%

American Airlines Group (AAL) $11.79 -6.02%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $286.92 -5.04%

Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $479.93 -4.23%

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $329.46 -4.21%

Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $8.03 -4.18%

Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $8.17 -4.16%

Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $1,650.00 -4.14%

Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $71.25 -3.90%