U.S. Stock Market: Investors Dive for Cover After Unexpected Inflation Data

In a market dynamic shaped by fears of inflation, the US stock market is showing declines at the start of the trading week. After the Nasdaq 100 ended Monday with an attention-grabbing score and breached the 18,000 mark for the first time, all signs point to a cooling of stock prices before the trading day has properly begun. Driving this development are current consumer price data, suggesting that the eagerly anticipated monetary policy shift from the Federal Reserve may be delayed. Investors, whose anticipation of falling interest rates is regarded as a signal for economic recovery, must be patient, as desired weakness in inflation was not recorded in January. The Nasdaq 100, particularly sensitive to interest rates due to its heavy technology weighting, is expected to face the most headwind and could see its recent gains significantly dampened, with a forecasted loss of 1.55 percent. Analysts at the Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen comment on the economic data as disappointing for the Fed and project a potentially resulting delay in interest rate policy. Deviating from the day's highs, the Dow Jones Industrial also closed the previous day with slight losses, as did the S&P 500. A similar picture is now emerging for the leading index, which is being quoted pre-market at 38,502 points, a drop of nearly 0.8 percent. The quarterly results of pharmaceutical giant Biogen are not well received by investors, and the company's outlook also falls short of expectations. In contrast, the figures from Coca-Cola and Marriott leave a much more positive impression. The shopping platform Shopify is attracting attention with significant price increases in pre-market trading, while JetBlue receives a lift from the entry of well-known investor Carl Icahn, who had previously categorized the airline as undervalued. Lastly, the travel portal Tripadvisor may be facing a takeover. A special committee has been appointed to evaluate future offers, which alone has resulted in pre-market share price increases.