Stock futures fell Thursday morning, erasing earlier gains, after a key consumer inflation report came in hotter than expected, signaling that the Federal Reserve will likely continue with aggressive interest rate hikes.
Futures the Dow Jones Industrials surrendered 180 points, or 0.6%, to 29,081.
Futures for the S&P 500 fell 49 points, or 1.4%, to 3,539.50.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite thundered lower 296.25 points, or 2.9%, to 10,544.25.
The reversal in early gains came after the September consumer inflation report came in higher than economists expected. The consumer price index increased 0.4% for the month, more than the 0.3% estimate from Dow Jones. On an annual basis, inflation was up 8.2%.
Thursday's CPI report comes a day after the government said the producer price index, another inflation gauge, rose more than expected.
Investors also digested minutes from the September Federal Reserve meeting, released Wednesday. The minutes showed the central bank expected to keep hiking interest rates until it sees receding inflation.
But one comment made some think the Fed might instead slow the rate hikes, if not roll them back, if financial markets tumult continued.
Delta shares traded 5% higher in the pre-market Thursday after the airline said it expects another profit for the fourth quarter. The company sees earnings per share coming in between $1 and $1.25, with revenue topping those from the fourth quarter of 2019.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.6% Thursday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index flopped 1.9%.
Oil prices slid 22 cents to $87.05 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $4.30 to $1,681.80 U.S. an ounce.