Hot US inflation knocks Wall Street: Nasdaq −1.9%, Oracle sinks 8.8%

Data as of: Closing prices Wednesday 14 October 2026; Asia on Thursday morning, 15 October (AP)

Wednesday, 14 October: the S&P 500 lost 1.1% (−86.51 points) to 7,718.94, its fifth loss in six days since its record high. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.9% to 26,692.87, and the Russell 2000 (smaller firms) also dropped 1.9% to 2,729.53. The Dow Jones held close to flat, down 48.62 points (−0.1%) at 51,621.48 (AP, TheStreet).

Inflation was the trigger. US consumer prices in September were 3.7% higher than a year earlier, up from 3.4% in August and above the 3.6% forecast. Core inflation (excluding energy and food) came in at 2.6% against 2.5% expected. Fuel got pricier because of the war with Iran, with gasoline alone up 9.1% in a month. Traders now see a nearly 35% chance that the Federal Reserve raises rates in two weeks (AP, CME data). The 10-year Treasury yield briefly topped 5.32%, then gave back much of the jump.

AI-related stocks fell hardest, as higher rates make loans for new data centres more expensive. Oracle lost 8.8%, CoreWeave 15.5%, AMD 5.7%, Nvidia 3.2% and Broadcom 3.1%. Bank of America fell 4.8% after weaker profit and a $1.2 billion fine, and State Street dropped 4.1%. Morgan Stanley beat forecasts ($3.03 earnings per share vs $2.94 expected), yet its shares were down about 3% before the opening bell. Health care and consumer staples rose more than 2%. Brent gained 0.35% to $106.06 a barrel and WTI 1% to $95.09 after a Houthi attack on Saudi Aramco. Gold (December futures) fell 1.26% to $4,124.80 an ounce.

Thursday morning: the tech sell-off is spreading through Asia. South Korea's Kospi plunged as much as 8%, triggering a 20-minute trading halt (circuit breaker) in Seoul. The Nikkei 225 was down around 5% during the session, the Shanghai Composite 2% and the Hang Seng 1.3% (intraday levels, not closing prices). US futures are lower, and the 10-year yield has eased to 5.10% (AP).