[New York Stock Market] April CPI Hits 3-Year High... All Major Indices Decline

Crude Oil Prices Climb
Concerns Over Inflation Resurface

On May 12 (local time), all three major U.S. stock indices opened mixed but are currently declining after the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) for April recorded the highest level in three years. The renewed concerns over inflation appear to stem from rising energy prices following the aftermath of the Iran war.

According to the home trading system (HTS), as of 9:35 a.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow Jones Index) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) was down 133.39 points (0.29%) from the previous trading day at 49,580.45. The S&P 500 Index, which focuses on large-cap stocks, dropped 32.58 points (0.45%) to 7,380.26, while the Nasdaq Index, which focuses on tech stocks, slid 199.464 points (0.72%) to 26,074.661.

The April CPI, marking the highest figure since May 2023, is seen to have affected investor sentiment. Soaring gasoline prices drove overall inflation, while underlying price pressures such as housing costs also remained persistent.

On May 12 (local time), the U.S. Department of Labor announced that the CPI for April rose 3.8% year-on-year. Compared to the previous month, it increased by 0.6%. These figures are in line with expert forecasts compiled by Dow Jones.

However, core CPI, which excludes the more volatile food and energy sectors, rose 2.8% year-on-year and 0.4% month-on-month, both exceeding market expectations of 2.7% and 0.3%, respectively. This indicates that the underlying trend of inflation is more robust than anticipated and may limit some expectations of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve (Fed).

Skyler Winand, Chief Investment Officer at Reagan Capital, analyzed, "The CPI has exceeded 3% for two consecutive days, which suggests that inflation is surging again, fueled by persistently high oil prices. As the Middle East conflict continues, oil prices will remain a key factor influencing inflation for the rest of the year."

Meanwhile, international oil prices are on the rise. At this time, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for June delivery is trading at $101.78 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 3.86% from the previous session. Brent crude on the ICE Futures Exchange is up 3.63% from the previous session at $107.99 per barrel.

Most large-cap stocks by market capitalization are declining. Microsoft is down 0.96%, Apple 1.36%, Alphabet 0.82%, TSMC 1.06%, Broadcom 1.20%, Meta 0.88%, and Tesla 0.31%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.