Why it matters
- The Nasdaq Composite fell 511.51 points, or 1.88%, to 26,692.87 on Wednesday, its biggest daily drop since July 23, and the S&P 500 lost 1.11% to 7,718.94, Reuters reported. The Dow slipped 0.09%.
- September consumer prices rose 3.7% from a year earlier, above forecasts, and traders raised the odds of a Fed rate hike this month to 37% from 22% on Tuesday, according to Reuters, citing CME FedWatch.
- Bank of America fell 4.8% after a $1.2 billion regulatory charge cut its profit, and Morgan Stanley lost 2.7% despite higher earnings. The PHLX Semiconductor Index sank 4.3%.
Session recap: what happened in this region's trading day, with sources.
U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday, Oct. 14, after a hotter-than-expected inflation report raised bets on another Federal Reserve rate hike and deepened a sell-off in chip and AI stocks. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 511.51 points, or 1.88%, to 26,692.87, its biggest one-day fall since July 23, and the S&P 500 lost 86.51 points, or 1.11%, to 7,718.94, its biggest drop since July 29, Reuters reported. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 48.62 points, or 0.09%, to 51,621.48.
| Index | Wednesday close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,718.94 | −86.51 (−1.11%) |
| Nasdaq Composite | 26,692.87 | −511.51 (−1.88%) |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 51,621.48 | −48.62 (−0.09%) |
| Russell 2000 | 2,729.53 | −53.84 (−1.93%) |
| S&P/TSX Composite (Canada) | 35,584.46 | −399.54 (−1.11%) |
| Ibovespa (Brazil) | 206,505.98 | −382.02 (−0.18%) |
| S&P/BMV IPC (Mexico) | 66,790.35 | −174.80 (−0.26%) |
Source: Yahoo Finance chart data; changes are from Tuesday, Oct. 13. U.S. figures match the Associated Press closing table.
Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors fell. Information technology dropped 2.6% and communication services 1.78%, Reuters said.
Why did stocks fall after the CPI report?
Consumer prices rose 0.6% in September and 3.7% from a year earlier, up from 3.4% in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Gasoline jumped 9.1% and accounted for more than half of the monthly rise. Core prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.3% on the month and 2.6% on the year. Reuters said core inflation topped forecasts of 0.2% and 2.5%.
Traders priced in a 37% chance of a rate hike at the Fed's Oct. 27-28 meeting, up from 22% on Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing CME FedWatch. The report "raised worries about more rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and a higher cost of capital," Yahoo Finance reported.
Chip and AI stocks lead the slide
The PHLX Semiconductor Index fell 4.3%, its sixth straight loss and longest losing streak since May 2025, Reuters said. Nvidia fell 3.2%, Oracle 8.8%, CoreWeave 15.5% and Dell 11.3%, Yahoo Finance data showed. Reuters said Barclays cut Dell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise to "equal-weight." Apple rose 0.5% and closed with a market value above $5 trillion for the first time, according to Reuters.
How did Bank of America and Morgan Stanley stocks do?
Bank of America fell 4.8% to $51.39. It earned 91 cents a share, down from $1.04, after a $1.2 billion regulatory settlement charge, the bank said. Excluding the charge, it earned about $1.08. Revenue rose 3% to $30.0 billion, short of the $30.39 billion analysts expected, Investopedia reported.
Morgan Stanley lost 2.7% to $181.51 even though it earned $3.03 a share, up from $2.80, on record wealth management revenue of $9.1 billion, the firm said. Goldman Sachs fell 1.5% and Citigroup 1.8%, while JPMorgan Chase rose 1.2%, Yahoo Finance data showed. The S&P 500 banks index fell 0.7% to its lowest close since June, Reuters said.
What happened to Treasury yields and oil?
The 2-year Treasury yield rose to 4.82% from 4.79%, while the 10-year yield eased to 5.19% from 5.21%, Treasury Department data showed. Long-term yields rose after the report before giving back some gains, Yahoo Finance said.
Brent crude settled up 37 cents, or 0.35%, at $106.06 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate rose 95 cents, or 1.01%, to $95.09, a three-week high, after attacks in Saudi Arabia and the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported.
The Fed's Beige Book, released at 2 p.m. ET, said two of the 12 Fed districts reported moderate growth in economic activity and that "higher oil prices permeated all District reports."
What's next for markets?
Chipmaker TSMC reports quarterly results on Thursday, Yahoo Finance said, and upcoming economic releases are on our market calendar. Earlier today, our day ahead covered the CPI report and bank results, and the Europe Wednesday recap and Asia Wednesday recap cover the earlier sessions. Tuesday's U.S. session recap has the first bank results. The markets page tracks the latest numbers.
Follow the rest of the trading day on our global market today page, with the latest Asia, Europe and Americas session recaps.
Sources
- Reuters via Yahoo Finance, Nasdaq ends sharply lower as hot inflation data stirs rate-hike worries
- Associated Press via Yahoo Finance, How major US stock indexes fared Wednesday 10/14/2026
- Reuters via Yahoo Finance, Stocks fall, dollar rallies as US inflation tops forecasts
- Yahoo Finance, Nvidia stock sinks as chip sell-off deepens on hot inflation data
- Investopedia via Yahoo Finance, Bank of America Stock Slumps After Revenue Miss, $1.2B Treasury Fine
- Reuters via Yahoo Finance, Oil prices gain on attacks in Saudi Arabia, Iran's new tactics to target tankers
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index, September 2026
- Bank of America, third-quarter 2026 earnings press release (SEC filing)
- Morgan Stanley, third-quarter 2026 earnings results (SEC filing)
- Federal Reserve, Beige Book, October 2026: Summary
- U.S. Treasury, Daily Treasury par yield curve rates, 2026
- Yahoo Finance, chart data for the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, Dow, Russell 2000, S&P/TSX Composite, Ibovespa, S&P/BMV IPC, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Nvidia, Oracle, CoreWeave and Dell