US stocks slide as hot PPI data and AI financing worries hit markets

US stocks fell sharply Thursday as producer price data showed inflation accelerating more than expected, with Nasdaq futures down 1.1% and the S&P 500 losing 0.3%, while concerns grew over how AI infrastructure investments will be financed. September PPI surged 1.3% month-on-month, more than double the 0.6% forecast, and jumped 6.3% annually versus the 5.4% expected. Core inflation hit 2.6% year-on-year, exceeding forecasts, while retail sales rose 0.8% against a 0.3% expectation. The selloff hit AI-related companies hard, with CoreWeave plunging 15% on distressed debt concerns, Oracle down 9%, and Dell falling 12%. The 10-year Treasury yield briefly jumped to 5.3%, and traders priced a nearly 50% chance of a Fed rate hike in late October.