Hot US inflation hits Wall Street: the Nasdaq falls 1.88 per cent as traders bet on a Fed rate rise
US consumer prices accelerated in September on costlier petrol, and core CPI was firmer (Reuters, via the Straits Times). The Financial Times put the annual rate at 3.7 per cent and Upper Michigan’s Source gave the same figure. Bloomberg called it the fastest rise since April and said Treasuries slumped as traders raised bets on a Fed rate rise later this month and next year. The Nasdaq fell 1.88 per cent to 26,692.87, its biggest daily drop since 23 July (Straits Times). Bloomberg said the S&P 500 ended its longest spell of calm since 2020, and the FT said Nvidia, Oracle and CoreWeave fell. ASML nudged up its outlook, saying AI demand outruns supply (CNA, Bloomberg). The Straits Times said US mortgage rates reached 7.5 per cent.
Higher US rates pull up the dollar and Treasury yields, which tightens financial conditions worldwide. The AI-linked shares that led recent gains are among the most sensitive to higher rates and to doubts about AI debt.
A stronger case for a Fed hike can feed through to Singapore mortgage and fixed-deposit rates and the Singdollar over time. If you hold US tech shares or funds, expect more volatility.
PGIM’s Robert Sockin told Bloomberg that the US economy needs at least two more rate rises.
Natixis’s Christopher Hodge told Bloomberg he expects inflation to keep easing and sees one final hike in December, and Barclays’s Pooja Sriram noted that higher rates hit housing and autos first.
One data point does not set policy, but it changed pricing. Watch today’s US producer prices, the next Fed signals, and whether chip shares recover or the AI selloff spreads.
DailyDrop Singapore edition No. 11 · Morning · THU., OCT. 15, 2026