US stocks drop as hot inflation hits AI shares

Wall Street stocks fell Wednesday after a hotter-than-expected US inflation report, with the Nasdaq dropping 1.9 percent as leading artificial intelligence equities tumbled. The consumer price index rose 3.7 percent year-on-year in September, up from August's 3.4 percent and exceeding analyst forecasts, prompting traders to reassess the odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike later this month. Chip companies Nvidia and AMD fell sharply, while data center operator CoreWeave lost over 15 percent. European markets closed higher in London, Paris, and Frankfurt, though Asian equities struggled following Tuesday's steep tech losses amid concerns about China's AI chip progress. Bank of America fell 4.8 percent after a $1.2 billion fine for anti-money laundering violations.