The September 2026 US consumer price index rose to 3.7% year-over-year, exceeding the 3.6% forecast and the previous 3.4% reading. Core CPI increased 2.6% annually, surpassing the 0.2% monthly expectation. Following the data, the probability of a Federal Reserve rate hike at the October meeting climbed to 37-49%.
On October 14, the Nasdaq composite fell approximately 1.9%, while the S&P 500 dropped about 1.1%. AI infrastructure companies faced significant declines: CoreWeave shares fell over 15%, Dell dropped roughly 11%, and Oracle slid about 9%. These firms provide compute, servers, and cloud capacity for AI model development.
The market downturn extended to Asian trading on October 15, with KOSPI futures and the Nikkei 225 pointing lower. This followed a 5.5% decline in the region on October 13. Markets in South Korea and Japan, which host major semiconductor and electronics supply chain players like Samsung, SK Hynix, and TSMC, remain sensitive to US tech sector volatility.
Rising interest rates negatively impact growth stocks, as future profits are discounted at higher rates. AI companies, which rely on heavy capital expenditure and debt for expansion, face increased borrowing costs. Investors are currently reassessing valuations for companies with high exposure to debt versus those with stronger balance sheets.
