According to Cointelegraph, US stocks fell on October 12 as newly released inflation data exceeded expectations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 173.73 points (0.51%) to 33,631.14, while the S&P 500 declined by 27.34 points (0.62%) to 4,349.61. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index lost 85.46 points (0.63%), falling to 13,574.22.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released Consumer Price Index data for September at 8:30 am Eastern Time, showing that prices increased 0.4% over the month and 3.7% in the year preceding October 1. This was higher than the 0.3% for the month and 3.6% year-over-year estimated by Dow Jones. Traders viewed the higher-than-expected figure as bearish for equities, as it could imply that the Federal Reserve will need to maintain elevated interest rates for longer than previously expected to control inflation.

Despite the overall market decline, shares of some retail-sector companies performed unusually well. Walgreens gained 7% after reporting smaller-than-expected losses, and Dollar General stock surged by nearly 10% after-hours as the company announced the return of former CEO Todd Vasos. U.S. Treasury yields rose as traders digested the new inflation data, with the 10-year note gaining 0.102 points to reach 4.699% and the two-year gaining 0.066 points to rise to 5.071%. Gold fell by $6.52 per troy ounce to 1,868.93, continuing its downward trend since May 4 due to concerns about rising interest rates and a strong dollar. Oil prices increased slightly on October 12, with West Texas Intermediate adding a penny per barrel (0.012%) to reach $83.50 and Brent crude gaining $0.56 (0.65%) per barrel to reach $86.38. In the foreign exchange market, the U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.76 points to 106.58, while the euro fell 0.85% to $1.0528 and the yen fell 0.47%, causing the number of yen needed to buy a dollar to rise to 149.772. Many traders believe that Japanese monetary authorities will intervene if this number rises above 150.