Stocks are lower at midday, with the Nasdaq leading the decline, after a hotter-than-expected October CPI report, which pushed the 10-year Treasury yield above 5%. Small caps are also under pressure, while gold is down about 2% as the dollar strengthens.

Under the hood, only three of eleven sectors are in the green as investors rotate into defensive areas after the CPI report. Consumer Staples (XLP) and Financials (XLF) are in the lead, with beverage and tobacco names moving higher in Staples, while insurers lead Financials as higher Treasury yields boost the income they earn on their investment portfolios. Energy (XLE) is also modestly higher as a rise in natural gas prices lifts gas producers and pipeline operators.

On the other hand, Technology (XLK) is the worst performer as the jump in yields pressures high-multiple growth names, with Nvidia (NVDA), the sector’s largest weighting, extending its slide as scrutiny of CEO Jensen Huang intensifies, and AI hardware, memory, and software names also lower. Materials (XLB) is the second worst performer as gold and copper miners slide on the stronger dollar, while Industrials (XLI) fall as AI power and infrastructure names give back part of yesterday’s gains, led lower by GE Vernova (GEV), which hit its lowest level since early February. Rate-sensitive sectors such as Real Estate (XLRE) and Utilities (XLU) are also lower.

Anthropic Kicks Off IPO Roadshow

Anthropic launched its IPO roadshow today with a price range of $70 to $78 per share on 825 million shares, a raise of up to about $64.4 billion, and expects to price on November 18 and begin trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker ANT on November 19. Goldman Sachs (GS), the lead bank on the deal, has shared projections with prospective investors calling for revenue to top $600 billion by 2030, backed by roughly $900 billion in committed compute and infrastructure spending, a buildout that can turn into a long-term tailwind if executed well.

The IPO comes on the heels of Anthropic’s release of Fable 5.2 on Monday, its new top-tier model, which outscores Google’s (GOOGL) Gemini 4 Carbon and OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra on most of its published benchmarks, including agentic coding, computer use, and scientific research. It also more than doubled its predecessor’s score on a benchmark that measures how well AI handles real-world remote work.

Rate Hike Bets Build

Following this morning’s economic data, rate hike expectations have moved higher, with fed funds futures now fully pricing a hike at the December meeting and about a 10% chance of a half-point move, up from zero yesterday.

Fed speakers are leaning hawkish as well today. Following Governor Christopher Waller’s comments this morning, Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said the Fed needs at least two more rate hikes and could move faster this winter, arguing that excess inflation is unacceptable.

Economic Data

The Redbook Index showed same-store sales up 10.1% from a year ago in the week ended November 7, easing from 10.4% the prior week but holding near the top of its range over the past three months.