US STOCKS retreated in early trading today from the gains scored in the prior session, after seeing more data confirming the blistering pace of US inflation amid a stall in Ukraine-Russia peace talks.

“Markets like certainty. Right now we’re seeing a lot more uncertainty,” Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investment told AFP.

Consumer prices in February continued to rise at a 40-year high, spiking 7.9% amid rising costs for gasoline, food and housing, Labour Department data said.

“Everything that makes up inflation is going bonkers,” Sarhan said, warning “it really slows down growth and that becomes stagflation.”

The Federal Reserve is poised to raise interest rates next week for the first time since slashing them to zero at the start of the pandemic to get a handle on inflation.

The war in Ukraine is driving energy and food prices higher, which will complicate the Fed’s efforts to sustain economic recovery.

Major stock indices on Wednesday scored gains of more than 2% amid tentative signs of hope in the Ukraine conflict, causing oil prices to plunge more than 10%.

About 30 minutes into trading today, the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.6% to 33,120.39, 

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.9% to 4,240.34 while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.4% to 13,067.12.

Oil prices in contrast rebounded after losses the prior day, with the key US contract for West Texas Intermediate up 1.4% to RM460. – AFP, March 10, 2022.