Wall Street sinks on worries about high inflation, rates

Stocks are sinking on Wall Street Thursday on worries that inflation is remaining hotter than feared, according to a report from the Associated Press.

The S&P 500 was 1.1% lower in early trading after a report showed inflation at the wholesale level slowed by less last month than economists forecast. It echoed a report on prices at the consumer level from earlier this week that showed inflation may not be cooling as quickly and as smoothly as hoped.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 287 points, or 0.8%, at 33,840, as of 9:40 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 1.2% lower.

Stocks have been churning recently as worries about sticky inflation joust against data showing the economy remains more resilient than feared. The worry has been that persistently high inflation will push the Federal Reserve to get even more aggressive on interest rates. Higher rates can drive down inflation but also drag on investment prices and raise the risk of a serious recession.