NEW YORK, Feb 24 — Wall Street stocks were off to a gloomy start today, dragged down by concerns that inflation could prove stickier than expected, leading to a longer period of high interest rates.
The index jumped 5.4 per cent from a year ago, and 0.6 per cent between December and January, Commerce Department data showed. The broad-based S&P 500 Index dropped by 1.2 per cent to 3,964.22, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index plunged 1.5 per cent to 11,413.70. He added that the figures are"piquing concerns about inflation remaining sticky" for a longer time, prompting the Fed to hold interest rates at a higher level over an extended period to combat price increases.