United States

Dow Drops More Than 100 Points After Hot Inflation Data Rattles Wall Street

"You got the worst-case scenario with this economic data," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley FBR

U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday after a data release showed inflation rose more than expected last month, CNBC reported. 

The Dow Jones industrial average declined 127 points at the open. The S&P 500 fell 0.4 percent, with energy as the worst-performing sector. The Nasdaq composite pulled back 0.3 percent.

The consumer price index rose 0.5 percent in January. Economists polled by Reuters expected a gain of 0.3 percent. Investors also digested weaker-than-expected retail sales for last month.

"You got the worst-case scenario with this economic data," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley FBR. "You got a hotter-than-expected CPI number and weaker retail sales. Unfortunately, CPI gets much more focus than normal because of the wage growth number we saw" in the last jobs report.

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