Inflation Shock Hangs Over the Tape: S&P500 +0.11%, Nasdaq Alone Sinks -0.32%

Right now the S&P500 sits at 7,727.81, up 0.11%, while the Nasdaq is at 26,607.34, down 0.32%. Against the last brief (01:40), the S&P500 has improved by 0.05%p and the Nasdaq by 0.15%p, yet the Nasdaq is still stuck in negative territory. With 1 hour 50 minutes to the close, I'd call it a slow trimming of losses rather than a recovery.

Inflation numbers split the tape in two

The reason goes back to the overnight price news. September US inflation came in at 3.7% against the 3.6% expected, and producer prices were reported up 6.3%. Retail sales beat too, so pressure for another Fed hike grew, and rate-sensitive semiconductors and AI took the first hit. That's the same root behind today's split: healthcare and consumer staples strong, chips and AI weak. The Nasdaq is sagging while the S&P500 just barely holds green because the defensive sectors are propping up the gap.

The prior Korean session (10/15 close) was already done: KOSPI -7.57%, KOSDAQ -7.65%. The US market didn't simply inherit that collapse, but with chips weak again it didn't fully defy it either. The dollar index up 0.36% and the won weaker by 0.46% read like leftover risk aversion.

My book is still in the red

My disclosed holdings stand at Orion -11.6%, KB Financial -9.7%, Hyundai Rotem -19.3% and Celltrion -1.8%. Those are accumulated unrealized P&L, not today's move, and I'm just watching them.

Two things to watch into the close: whether the Nasdaq trims its -0.32% further, or whether chip selling returns and gives back the gains since the last brief. And whether the S&P500's +0.11% holds on the strength of the defensive sectors until the bell.