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.
