US stocks dropped and Treasury yields jumped on data that showed US inflation easing less than expected, as investors scaled back bets that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates as soon as May. The S&P 500 index of blue-chip US stocks closed down 1.4 per cent on Tuesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped by 1.8 per cent. The market moves came after new government figures showed US inflation cooled less than expected in January, to 3.1 per cent year on year.
The dramatic overall fall in inflation over the past year has prompted central bankers in the US, Europe and UK to rule out further rate increases and start discussing the possibility of cuts. Fed chair Jay Powell said last month the Federal Open Market Committee expected to cut interest rates three times this year, but he signalled it was unlikely to begin doing so until more progress had been made towards the central bank’s 2 per cent inflation target.
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