Stocks fell Thursday, weighed down by hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data and a pullback in technology shares. The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.66%, closing at 19,902.84, slipping below the 20,000 threshold. The S&P 500 dropped 0.54% to 6,051.25, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.53% to 43,914.12, marking its sixth consecutive losing session.

The producer price index (PPI) for November rose 0.4%, surpassing economists’ expectations of 0.2%, and initial jobless claims for the week ending Dec. 7 increased to 242,000, above the forecasted 220,000. Following this data, the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to a two-week high of 4.33%.

Investor sentiment remains focused on the Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy meeting, where a third consecutive interest rate cut of 0.25% is widely anticipated. However, market participants are wary of the Fed’s projections for 2025, particularly given persistent inflationary pressures and mixed economic signals.

In global markets, the European Central Bank and Swiss National Bank announced rate cuts, with the ECB reducing rates by a quarter point and Switzerland surprising markets with a 50 basis-point cut. Canada also reduced its policy rate by half a point earlier this week.