US stock market opens lower with rising inflation

NEW YORK (AA) - The stock market opened lower on Tuesday as inflation in April marked its largest monthly increase in three years.

The Dow Jones decreased 42 points to begin the day at 17,668 points. The S&P 500 decreased 4 points to open at 2,062, while the Nasdaq was down 8 points to begin the day at 4,766.

Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the change in price of goods and services for consumers and measures changes in inflation, rose by 0.4 percent in April, beating the market expectation of a 0.3 percent rise.

The increase in the index for the month of April is the highest monthly jump since February 2013.

Analysts consider the rise in CPI could mean that the U.S. economy could reach a 2 percent inflation level -- a target set by the Federal Reserve in order to make an interest rate hike.

Meanwhile, analysts warn that if oil prices begin falling once again, a decline in inflation could be triggered.

Oil prices were slightly on the rise at the stock market opening.

The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was up by 0.6 percent to trade at $48.07 per barrel, and the International benchmark Brent crude increased 0.3 percent to reach $49.09 a barrel.

The markets will focus on weekly crude oil inventories in the U.S. on Wednesday.