US stocks fall as oil surge fuels inflation fears; Meta slides 6.2%, Nasdaq 100 drops 2.2%

US equities declined as a surge in oil prices revived concerns about inflation, with Meta shares falling 6.2% and the Nasdaq 100 dropping 2.2%. The transmission runs through inflation repricing: higher energy costs feed into headline CPI and raise the probability that the Federal Reserve keeps policy restrictive for longer, lifting real yields and compressing the present value of long-duration growth earnings. This dynamic weighs most heavily on the Nasdaq 100, where high-multiple technology names are more sensitive to discount-rate changes than the broader S&P 500, which carries greater weight in energy and value sectors that can partly offset the drag. Meta's steeper decline suggests stock-specific pressure layered on top of the macro move, amplifying its exposure to the rate-driven selloff in growth equities. Traders will watch the next US Consumer Price Index release for evidence of whether energy-driven price pressure is spreading into core goods and services inflation.

The Nasdaq-100 (NDX) is the US large-cap tech benchmark. NDX is more sensitive to rate decisions than SPX because of longer-duration cash flows, and heavily concentrated in Tech/Comms names — mega-cap earnings season dominates price action.

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