About $1 trillion evaporates from US stocks as gold rises and oil falls

U.S. stocks lost an estimated $1 trillion in market value in a single session after September inflation, driven by a jump in gasoline prices, came in above forecasts. Investors turned to gold while oil prices fell.

A broad sell-off in New York on Wednesday, Oct. 14, is estimated by market watchers to have erased about $1 trillion from the market value of U.S. stocks in one session. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.88% to 26,692.87, its worst day since July 23, the S&P 500 dropped 1.11% to 7,718.94 and the Dow Jones slipped just 0.09%.

Gasoline lifts inflation

The spark came from inflation data. The consumer price index rose 0.6% in September and 3.7% from a year earlier, beating economists’ 3.6% forecast after 3.4% in August. A 9.1% jump in gasoline prices accounted for more than half of the monthly rise, while core inflation stood at 2.6%.

Facade of the New York Stock Exchange (file photo)

The data strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise rates again, amid concern that higher oil prices linked to developments in the Middle East could add to inflationary pressure and push central banks toward tighter policy.

Gold up, oil down

Investors sought safe havens: gold rose 1% to $4,145 an ounce and the 10-year Treasury yield eased to about 5.1%. Brent crude, meanwhile, fell 1.7% to $104.3 a barrel on reports that U.S. President Donald Trump is considering easing sanctions on the so-called shadow fleet of tankers.

Technology shares led the losses amid doubts over returns on massive AI investments. A semiconductor stock fund fell 4.5% and Nvidia about 3%, while Bank of America lost about 5% after a drop in quarterly profit.

Nvidia headquarters (file photo)