Economists expect the consumer price index to increase from February
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the other major U.S. stock market indexes got cold feet Tuesday ahead of inflation data due on Wednesday. It’s expected that the Consumer Price Index will show that inflation increased to an annual rate of 3.4%, up from 3.2% in February. That’s making investors jittery, as they’ve been hoping that low unemployment and falling inflation would lead the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.
The Dow dropped more 300 points to 38,621 near midday. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq $NDAQ dipped 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively. And the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was 4.39%, down from the previous day.
Biotech company Moderna $MRNA announced Wednesday that three experimental vaccines had shown positive clinical trial results.They are not related to the company’s COVID-19 vaccine, and Moderna is moving the shots to the final stage of testing.
The news boosted Moderna stock, which has fallen in the post-pandemic era. Moderna stock jumped more than 8%, hovering around $113 per share in mid-morning trading.
The crypto market was also sluggish on Tuesday as Bitcoin dipped 2%, trading around $68,000. Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency, was down 2.5% to $3,500.
Dogecoin, Solana, and Cardano were also in the red, down more than 2%.
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