U.S. Inflation Accelerates to 3.7% as AI Shares and Asian Markets Slide

U.S. stocks fell after September inflation accelerated to 3.7% annually, while Asian markets slid in early trading as investors reassessed borrowing-cost risks for AI infrastructure companies.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.6% from August and 3.7% over the 12 months through September, after a 3.4% annual increase in August. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, advanced 0.3% for the month and 2.6% over the year, up from 2.4% in August. Annual headline and core readings were higher than estimates of 3.6% and 2.5%, respectively. The 0.6% monthly headline reading matched its estimate.

Gasoline prices climbed 9.1% for the month, contributing more than half of the overall CPI increase. The energy index rose 5.2%.

At the Oct. 14 close, the Nasdaq Composite had fallen 1.9% to 26,692.87, while the S&P 500 lost 1.1% to 7,718.94. CoreWeave sank 15.5%, and Oracle slipped 8.8%. AI infrastructure companies need substantial capital for data-center construction and equipment purchases. Higher borrowing costs can make expansion more expensive and weigh on valuations tied to expected future growth.

Asian markets were lower in early trading. At 8:52 p.m. ET Oct. 14 (00:52 UTC Oct. 15), the MSCI Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan was down 1.2%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 had fallen 1.3% and South Korea’s KOSPI was down 5.6%. Those were intraday readings, not closing levels.

The KOSPI had already dropped 5.46% to 6,035.35 on Oct. 13, before the U.S. CPI release, amid concerns about AI valuations and chip competition. Its decline later widened to 7% on Oct. 15, extending the slide in South Korean stocks.

Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, said, “Asia faces another difficult session.” The Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting is scheduled for Oct. 27-28.