US stock markets declined on Wednesday. The Dow closed in New York at 51,621 points, reflecting a 0.1% drop compared to the previous trading day. More broadly, the S&P 500 was down 1.1% at approximately 7,719 points, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 calculated around 29,951 points, registering a 2.0% loss.
Adding to the uncertainty, the US Bureau of Statistics announced on Wednesday that the inflation rate surged to 3.7% in September 2026, which was higher than expected. Core inflation-the rate of price changes excluding food and energy-rose to 2.6% in September, climbing from 2.4% in August. Experts suggest that rising oil prices, linked to the war between the US and Iran, are now being increasingly passed onto consumers across other sectors. Overall, energy prices increased by 20.4% year-on-year. This intensifying inflationary pressure increases the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will need to fight inflation more aggressively, making another interest rate hike more probable.
Across global financial markets, the European currency weakened on Wednesday evening. The Euro traded at 1.1155 US Dollars, meaning one dollar exchanged for 0.8965 Euros.
Meanwhile, commodity prices showed mixed movements. The gold price fell notably; at the evening session, a troy ounce traded at $4,102 (a 1.5% decrease), corresponding to 118.22 Euros per gram. In contrast, the price of crude oil rose. The Brent crude oil barrel, sourced from the North Sea, cost $106.00 around 10 PM German time, registering a 0.3% increase, or 34 cents, from the previous day’s closing price.
