A broad market selloff intensified Thursday after U.S. Producer prices rose sharply, pushing investors away from bitcoin, stocks and other economically sensitive assets while gold gained and Treasury yields fell.
Asian stocks weakened as Korean chipmakers suffered a rout, while Nasdaq futures and risk-sensitive currency pairs also moved lower. The retreat spread beyond crypto, indicating a wider reduction in exposure to assets tied to economic growth and market risk.
Producer Price Index for final demand increased 1. 3% in September, the largest monthly rise since March 2022.
The inflation data added to concerns that interest rates could remain higher. Futures briefly put the probability of a Federal Reserve rate increase later in October near 50% after the previous day’s consumer-price report, but that probability later eased to 29%, with the rest assigned to unchanged rates.
Several individual stocks moved sharply. Dell fell another 4% after dropping 11% the previous day, following concerns about artificial-intelligence demand and rising memory costs. Walmart rose 3% after an upgrade, while Rocket Lab lost more than 10% after delaying the first launch of its Neutron vehicle program to 2027.
The market reaction also put bitcoin’s sensitivity to macroeconomic conditions in focus. Ether was testing support near $2,350, and a break below that level could signal weaker demand and allow further losses.