S&P 500 opens sharply lower after hot US inflation data

Wall Street's main indexes came under strong bearish pressure on Thursday after the data from the US showed that inflation continued to rise at the beginning of the year.

The S&P 500 Index was last seen losing 1.15% at 4,535, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was losing 0.75% at 35,500 and the Nasdaq Composite was falling 1.4% at 14,285.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), jumped to 7.5% on a yearly basis in January from 7% in December. This reading surpassed the market expectation of 7.3%. Additionally, the Core CPI, which strips food and energy prices, climbed to 6% from 5.5%, compared to analysts' estimate of 5.9%.

Meanwhile, the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield is up nearly 3% on the day at 2% and the CME Group FedWatch Tool shows that markets are pricing a 50.2% probability of a 50 basis points Fed rate hike in March.