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Stocks crushed after inflation hits 40-year high: Nasdaq falls 3.5%, S&P 500 suffers worst week since January
Emily McCormick · Reporter
Updated 8 min read

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U.S. stocks sank Friday as investors digested two downbeat prints on the U.S. economy.

May data on inflation showed price increases unexpectedly accelerated last month, with consumer prices rising 8.6% year-over-year in May, the most since 1981. Consumer sentiment data released Friday morning came in at a record low, as inflation weighs on American households.

The S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq dropped sharply following the print. The S&P 500 sank by 2.9% during the session, and by more than 5% since last Friday to post its worst weekly performance since January. The index ended just a hair above 3,900, or its lowest level in about three weeks. The Dow sank by 880 points, or 2.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.5% by the end of Friday's session.

Treasury yields spiked especially on the short end of the curve, and the 2-year yield jumped to top 3%. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose to more than 3.1%. U.S. crude oil prices pulled back, falling to around $120 per barrel, after rising above $122 per barrel earlier this week.

For market participants, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was a key print, offering a fresh look at the extent to which price increases have persisted across the U.S. economy. The index unexpectedly accelerated to post an 8.6% annual increase in May, following April's 8.3% rise. That marked the biggest jump since late 1981, and took out the prior 41-year high set in the March CPI, which rose 8.5%.

On a month-over-month basis, CPI also jumped by 1.0%, or more than the 0.7% rise expected, and April's 0.3% increase. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased 6.0% on an annual basis after April's 6.2% increase.

Inflation has remained a dominant issue for investors, policymakers and the American public this year. Higher prices have threatened to weigh on consumer spending — the key driver of U.S. economic activity — as goods and services become increasingly unaffordable. Inflation has already shown signs of triggering a rotation from spending on some discretionary goods to other purchase areas. And on Friday, a closely watched consumer sentiment index slumped to a record low as inflationary concerns weighed on Americans.

And for investors, inflation has also become a key determinant in the path forward for the Federal Reserve's monetary policies. As the Fed aims to help bring down fast-rising prices, the central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates by another half-point at next week's policy-setting meeting, further increasing the cost of borrowing and doing business for companies.

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