Investing.com - Australian stocks opened 1.2% lower on Wednesday, mirroring losses in international markets following the release of higher-than-anticipated inflation data from the US for January. Wall Street slightly recovered some of its losses in the final half-hour of trading.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 525 points, and the S&P 500 traded below 4955. The Volatility Index (VIX) saw a surge of over 13%. The yield on the US 10-year note spiked above 4.3%, marking an increase of more than 40 basis points compared to the previous week.
Gold prices fell below $US2000 per ounce, while oil briefly surpassed $US83 per barrel. Meanwhile, the Australian dollar weakened as the US dollar rallied amid speculation that US interest rates might remain high for an extended period.
The US Consumer Price Index rose by 0.3% last month, following a 0.2% increase in December. Shelter costs, including rents, contributed to over two-thirds of the CPI rise. Prices excluding food and energy climbed by 0.4% in January.
Year-on-year, the CPI increased by 3.1% in January, slightly down from a 3.4% rise in December. These figures exceeded the predictions of economists polled by Reuters, who had forecasted a 0.2% monthly increase and a 2.9% annual rise. The yearly increase in consumer prices has moderated from a peak of 9.1% in June 2022.
Among local companies, AMP Ltd (ASX:AMP), Ansell Ltd (ASX:ANN), Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA), Computershare Ltd. (ASX:CPU), Dexus (ASX:DXS), Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX:DHG), Downer Edi Ltd (ASX:DOW), Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX:EVN), Fletcher Building Ltd (ASX:FBU), GUD Holdings Ltd (ASX:GUD), Idp Education Ltd (ASX:IEL), Seek Ltd (ASX:SEK), and Seven Group Holdings Ltd (ASX:SVW) are due to report their results.
No local data is expected to be released today. However, key overseas data include the UK's January CPI at 6 pm and the Eurozone's Q4 GDP and December industrial production at 9 pm.