New York, London, and Tokyo in October 2025 The most recent U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) report came out this week and said that inflation is still higher than expected. This made investors ponder again about how probable it is that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates.
The U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics gave us numbers that showed the CPI increasing increased 0.4% from one month to the next and 3.7% from one year to the next. This was more than the 3.5% projection. The unexpected rise made markets fall all over the world and government bond yields rise to their highest levels in months.
The results made people conclude that inflation is still high in the world's biggest economy, even after two years of substantial monetary tightening.
What Wall Street Did: Stocks Went Down and Yields Went Up
The rest of the globe lagged behind Wall Street. The S&P 500 dropped 1.5%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped roughly 2%. In more than three months, this was the greatest drop in one day.
The sell-off hurt technology and growth stocks the most since they are the most susceptible to changes in interest rates. The prices of semiconductor giants, fintech companies, and consumer electronics makers plunged as investors transferred their money to safer and more valued fields like banking and energy.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 4.92%, which is the highest level it has been since 2023. This shows that consumers anticipate the cost of borrowing will stay high until at least 2026.
"Investors were hoping for a smooth landing and lower interest rates by the start of next year." Michael Grant, head of strategy at Horizon Capital, stated, "This inflation data breaks that story."
