U. S. stocks fell sharply on Friday after a much-anticipated inflation report showed prices rising faster than expected and consumer confidence hit a record low.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 880 points, or 2.73%, to 31392.79. The s & p 500 fell 2.91% to close at 3900.86. The Nasdaq composite index fell 3.52% to 11340.02.

Almost all of the Dow's 30 stocks fell. Declining stocks outnumbered rising stocks by more than 5:1 on the New York Stock Exchange. U. S. stocks rebounded from 2022 lows at the end of May on speculation that the worst inflation may be over, but Friday's CPI report dashed those hopes. The s & p 500 is down nearly 19% from its all-time high and is now roughly in line with its may closing low.

Apple Inc's share price fell nearly 3.9%. Salesforce.com Inc fell 4.6 per cent and Amazon.Com Inc fell more than 5 per cent.

Friday's decline means Wall Street suffered its worst week in months. The Dow fell 4.58%, the 10th week of the past 11 weeks. The s & p 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 5.05 per cent and 5.60 per cent, respectively, the ninth week of decline in a decade and the worst week since January.

The consumer price index (CPI) reached its highest level since 1981 in May, putting pressure on the stock market. The report shows that prices rose 8.6% year-on-year, or 6%, excluding food and energy prices. Economists had expected year-on-year increases of 8.3 per cent for the main index and 5.9 per cent for the core index.

"this confirms some of the concerns I heard from investors this week," said Lori Calvasina, head of US equity strategy at Royal Bank of Canada Capital Markets (RBC Capital Markets). She said concerns about inflation have been driving down the stock market this week.

'for the stock market to perform better, we need to see energy prices fall, 'says Jessica Jessica Inskip.

The high inflation figures have raised concerns among investors and the public that the US economy could fall into recession. The initial consumer confidence index of the University of Michigan (University of Michigan) in June was much lower than expected, hitting a record low.

"this only reinforces the psychological impact of CPI data on consumers and has a negative impact on future consumer spending. It's a shocking number, but that's what happens when inflation is so hot, "said Peter Bukwa of Blakely Consulting Group."

Traders appear to be preparing for the Fed's more aggressive response to soaring oil prices. The yield on two-year Treasuries, seen as one of the most sensitive indicators of the fed's rate hike, broke through 3 per cent on Friday, its highest level since 2008.

Technology stocks are under pressure as investors struggle to cope with rising interest rates and a potential recession. Netflix's share price fell more than 5 per cent after Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Netflix. NVIDIA Corp, the chip giant, fell nearly 6 per cent.

Bank and cyclical stocks also fell, possibly reflecting fears of a recession. Shares of Wells Fargo & Co (Wells Fargo) fell 6 per cent and Goldman Sachs Group (Goldman Sachs) fell more than 5 per cent. Boeing Co is down 5%.