US stocks plummet amid fears of Fed could turn more hawkish against record inflation

By Ovunc Kutlu​​​​​​​

ANKARA (AA) - Record US inflation affected US stocks Thursday with major indices closing in negative territory.

Consumer prices rose 7.5% year-on-year in January, marking the largest 12-month increase since February 1982, according to the Labor Department.

The consumer price index was above the market estimate of 7.3%, rising 7% in December.

Investors are worried that the Federal Reserve could turn more hawkish and make faster and higher rate hikes this year to tame record inflation.

The Dow Jones fell 526 points, or 1.47%, to close at 35,241.

The S&P 500 was off 83 points, or 1.81%, to end at 4,504.

The Nasdaq plummeted 304 points, or 2.1%, to 14,185.

The VIX volatility index soared 19.7% to 25.90 with expectations of a more hawkish Fed.

The dollar index rose 0.18% to 95.67 and the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes jumped 6.5% to 2.052%.

Precious metals fell, with gold losing 0.34% to $1,827 per ounce and silver declining 0.5% to $23.19.

Crude oil prices were mixed. Brent crude was trading at $91.32 per barrel with a 0.25% loss, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was at $89.98 -- up 0.36%.