Wall Street closes sharply lower as inflation worries mount

All three major United States stock indexes ended the session deep in the red after a consumer prices report recorded the biggest spike in nearly 12 years.

Wall Street closed lower on Wednesday with the S&P suffering its biggest one-day percentage drop since February, as inflation data fuelled concerns over whether interest rate hikes from the United States Federal Reserve could happen sooner than anticipated. All three major US stock indexes ended the session deep in the red following the US Department of Labor’s April consumer prices report, which showed the biggest rise in nearly 12 years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 681.5 points, or 1.99 percent, to 33,587.66; the S&P 500 lost 89.06 points, or 2.14 percent, to 4,063.04; and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 357.75 points, or 2.67 percent, to 13,031.68.