US equities close lower with inflation boosting bets on rate hikes

US equities closed lower as inflation readings boosted market bets on further interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. The primary transmission channel is the discount rate: higher expected policy rates raise the present-value hurdle for future earnings, which compresses equity valuations, and the repricing of terminal rate expectations flows through quickly into Treasury yields. The Nasdaq 100 (NDX) is typically more exposed than the S&P 500 because its heavier weighting toward long-duration growth and technology companies makes their valuations more sensitive to changes in real yields. Traders will be watching the next Consumer Price Index release and Fed speaker commentary for signals on whether the inflation trend is persistent enough to sustain the rate-hike pricing.

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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