Free Republic

Stocks dropped on Friday morning after a highly anticipated inflation report showed a faster-than-expected rise in prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 755 points, or 2.3%. The S&P 500 fell 2.5%, while Nasdaq Composite sank nearly 3%. The May consumer price index report came in at its highest level since 1981, putting pressure on the stock market. The report showed prices rising 8.6% year over year, and 6% when excluding food and energy prices. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones were expecting year over year increases of 8.3% for the main index and 5.9% for the core index. "It's confirming...

Stocks sank on Friday, putting the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 on pace for consecutive weekly declines, as traders weighed a raft of corporate earnings and rising interest rates. The Dow fell 846 points, or 2.4%. The S&P 500 was 2.5% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite declined by 2.4%. Friday’s loss was the biggest of the month for the Dow. Those losses put the Dow down 1.5% for the week, on track for its fourth straight weekly decline. The S&P 500 was headed for a three-week slide, and was down 2.5% week to date. The Nasdaq was the...