Top Stock Movers Now: Lululemon, Oxford Industries, WR Berkely, and More

U.S. equities sank at midday as the inflation gauge favored by the Federal Reserve was higher than forecasts, and a new measure of consumer sentiment was less than anticipated. The Nasdaq tumbled 2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 fell more than 1%.

Lululemon Athletica (LULU) was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 after the CEO of the fashion athletic clothing maker warned that consumers were spending less because of inflation and economic worries.

The same comments about consumer spending sent shares of Tommy Bahama owner Oxford Industries (OXM) sinking.

Wolfspeed (WOLF) plunged after the software manufacturer’s outgoing interim Executive Chairman raised investor concerns that the firm may miss out on millions in federal money from the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 it had been expecting.

Insurer W.R. Berkley (WRB) shares advanced when Japanese insurance provider Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance took a 15% stake in the firm.

Shares of Merck (MRK) rose when the drugmaker announced it planned on putting a subcutaneous injectable version of its blockbuster cancer drug, Keytruda, on the market in October.

Rocket Lab USA (RKLB) shares took off on word the U.S. Space Force has chosen the space rocket company to compete for its up to $5.6 billion National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program. 

Oil futures slid. Gold prices gained. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note tumbled. The U.S. dollar lost ground to the yen, gained against the euro, and was little changed against the pound. Most major cryptocurrencies traded lower.