Dow Dips Over 300 Points; US Inflation Increases More Than Expected

U.S. stocks took a nosedive this morning, with the Dow Jones losing over 300 points on Wednesday. It's like they saw a ghost!

As soon as the market opened on Wednesday, the Dow took a 0.79% tumble to 44,240.00, while the NASDAQ decided to join the party, dropping 0.47% to 19,551.48. Not wanting to feel left out, the S&P 500 also slipped, falling 0.61% to 6,031.34.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors Health care shares took a tiny step back, declining 0.1% on Wednesday. Guess they just needed a breather!

Real estate shares, on the other hand, took a bigger hit, dropping 1.4% on Wednesday. Ouch!

Top Headline

The headline Consumer Price Index decided to go up to 3% year-over-year, according to data released on Wednesday. It's like it wanted to be the star of the show, rising 0.1 percentage points from December and outshining the median economist forecast of 2.9%, as reported by TradingEconomics. On a monthly basis, inflation rose by 0.5%, far exceeding expectations of 0.3% and speeding up from December's 0.4% increase. Somebody stop this inflation train!

Equities Trading UP

• Tivic Health Systems, Inc. (TIVC) shares skyrocketed by 111% to $0.4980 after announcing they snagged exclusive license rights from Statera Biopharma for their Phase III TLR5 agonist entolimod treatment for acute radiation syndrome. Talk about a power move!

• Xilio Therapeutics, Inc. (XLO) shares shot up by 104% to $1.3380 after announcing a fancy option-to-license collaboration agreement with AbbVie to develop some cutting-edge tumor-activated antibody-based immunotherapies. Fancy!

• Kindly MD, Inc. (KDLY) shares also joined the fun, climbing 62% to $2.3150. Way to go!

Equities Trading DOWN

• Spire Global, Inc. (SPIR) shares took a whopping 49% dive to $10.06 after filing a complaint against Kpler Holding, alleging they failed to complete the acquisition of Spire’s maritime business. Looks like they’re going to need some extra cash or a loan to keep things afloat.

• Atomera Incorporated (ATOM) shares shrank by 41% to $5.13 after missing their fourth-quarter EPS and seeing a decline in sales results. Oops!

• Similarweb Ltd. (SMWB) shares took a 33% tumble to $11.23 after reporting earnings that missed the mark. Better luck next time!

Commodities In the world of commodities, oil slipped by 1.5% to $72.20, while gold decided to take a little nap, falling 0.5% to $2,919.30.

Meanwhile, silver perked up by 0.5% to $32.475 on Wednesday, and copper put on a happy face, rising 0.6% to $4.6305.

Euro Zone

European shares were having a mixed day today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 took a tiny dip by 0.1%, Germany's DAX 40 added a little cheer by increasing 0.2%, and France's CAC 40 decided to follow the STOXX 600, decreasing by 0.2%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index was the life of the party, rising 0.9%, while London's FTSE 100 increased by 0.1%.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets mostly ended the day on a high note on Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 gaining 0.42%, China's Shanghai Composite Index rising 0.85%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index leaping 2.64%, and India's BSE Sensex taking a small step back, declining by 0.16%.

Economics

• U.S. mortgage applications rose by 2.3% from the previous week during the first week of February, following a 2.2% increase from the earlier week. Looks like people are still house hunting!

• The headline Consumer Price Index decided to stretch its legs a bit, increasing to 3% year-over-year in data released Wednesday, up 0.1 percentage points compared to December and outpacing median economist forecasts of 2.9%, as tracked by Black Investors Coalition. Inflation's on the move!