U.S. stocks slipped during morning trading Tuesday as new inflation data continued to show a sharp rise in prices.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 49.97 points to 35,700.92, boosted by bank stocks.
The S&P 500 index ditched 18.78 points to 4,650.19.
The NASDAQ plunged 133.35 points at 15,279.29.
Tesla shares were among the biggest early droppers on the S&P 500, falling 2.3% after CEO Elon Musk announced that that he has sold another $906.5 million in shares.
Fellow automaker Ford also fell, down 2.7% following news that by 2030 Toyota would be investing $35 billion into battery-powered electronic vehicles, a space where Ford has sought to establish itself as a leader.
On the other hand, bank stocks rose along with interest rates, with Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase each adding more than 1%.
On the COVID front, Pfizer announced that its drug aimed at treating patients with the virus proved effective in a final analysis, including against the new omicron variant.
The downfall for stocks comes after the November reading for the producer price index showed a year-over-year increase of 9.6%, the fastest pace on record and above the 9.2% expected by economists, according to Dow Jones. The index rose 0.8% month over month, above the 0.5% expected.
The hotter-than-expected inflation reading comes as the Federal Reserve also kicks off its two-day meeting on Tuesday. The central bank will release a statement on Wednesday with quarterly projections for the economy, inflation and interest rates.
Prices for 10-year Treasurys fell, raising yields to 1.47% from Monday's 1.42%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped $1.09 to $70.20 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices let go of $15.80 to $1,772.50 U.S. an ounce.