US stocks drop to their worst day since July as inflation worsens

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks dropped to their worst day since July on Wednesday following the latest signal that inflation is getting worse. The S&P 500 sank 1.1 percent for a fifth loss in the six days since setting its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 48 points, or 0.1 percent, and the Nasdaq composite slid 1.9 percent as stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry led the way lower. Stocks felt pressure from rising yields in the bond market, where worries grew after a report said U.S. consumers had to pay prices for fuel, food and other costs of living last month that were 3.7 percent higher overall than a year earlier. That means inflation accelerated from its 3.4 percent rate in August and was worse than the 3.6 percent that economists expected. Inflation has remained more painful than anyone would like since the economy catapulted out of the crevasse created by the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s accelerated recently in part because of jumps in fuel prices caused by the war with Iran, and the price for a barrel of Brent crude added 0.4 percent Wednesday to $106.06. Tha