NEW YORK — U.S. stocks fell sharply Tuesday after disappointing inflation data made investors confront the bitter possibility that interest rates will stay high for months longer than they were hoping.
The S&P 500 tumbled 1.4% as traders delayed forecasts for when the Federal Reserve will deliver the cuts to interest rates they crave so much. The hotter-than-expected inflation report may have put the final nail into hopes that the first cut could arrive in March. It also pushed many forecasts past May into June, according to data from CME Group.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 524 points, or 1.4%, from its record set a day earlier. The Nasdaq composite, which has been flirting with its all-time high set in 2021, sank 1.8%.
High interest rates hurt all kinds of investments, and they tend to particularly hurt high-growth stocks like technology companies. A 2.2% drop for Microsoft and 2.1% tumble for Amazon were the two heaviest weights on the market.
The losses were widespread, and nearly 90% of the stocks in the S&P 500 fell in the wipeout. It’s one of the biggest speed bumps for the index since its big, record-setting rally began in late October. Much of that rise was due to hopes that inflation was cooling enough for the Fed to cut rates and relax the pressure on the economy.
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Stocks of smaller companies fell even more because high rates could hurt them more than bigger rivals by making it more…
