Stocks dropped lower on Thursday as a key inflation report showed another decades-high price increase, prompting traders to access which direction the Federal Reserve will take to adjust monetary conditions to halt surging prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 500 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite declined by 1.8% and 2.1%, respectively.
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
Binance to take a $200 million stake in Forbes:
The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, is making a $200 million strategic investment in century-old magazine and digital publisher Forbes, according to a CNBC report.
Forbes will use the funds to execute its plans to merge with a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in the first quarter, sources told CNBC. Binance will replace half of the $400 million in commitments from investors announced by Forbes in August, CNBC reports, making the crypto exchange one of the top biggest owners of the publisher. Binance will also get two directors out of nine total on Forbes' board.
Forbes plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker FRBS, according to CNBC sources.
Key inflation gauge accelerates to multi-decade high in January:
U.S. inflation accelerated in January, driven by price increases across a wide range of goods and services as shortages and supply chain disruptions continue to weigh on the economy.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading for January rose to an annual gain of 7.5%, according to the firm's report published Thursday, accelerating from December's 7.0% gain. January's print also represented the fasted annual rise since 1982.
Energy prices were a key driver of the month's CPI growth, with overall energy costs up 27% year-over-year. By category, fuel oil prices increased by 9.5% month-over-month, while electricity prices jumped by 4.2% month-over-month.
Jobless claims fall for a third straight week:
First-time unemployment claims came in lower in the latest weekly data, as the labor market continues to recover from the Omicron varaint's impact earlier this year.
Initial jobless claims totaled 223,000 for the week ended Feb. 5, according to the Labor Department's latest report published Thursday. That print was below the 230,000 expected and the previous week's upwardly revised total of 239,000.
Continuing jobless claims for the week ended Jan. 29 matinined the prior week's downwardly revised total of 1.621 million.
Here's how market benchmarks started trading after open:
S&P 500 Index: -1.20% or -54.84 points 4,532.34
Dow Jones Industrial Average: -0.74% or -262.99 points to 35,505.07
Nasdaq Composite Index: -1.79% or -258.68 points to 14,231.69
