US stocks slide as investors eye inflation data and assess Fed policy path

• The Nasdaq Composite slumped Monday and the S&P 500 was headed for a fifth straight fall.
• The declines come ahead of Wednesday's key consumer price inflation data.

US stocks slumped Monday, with the S&P 500 on track for its fifth straight decline as investors position themselves for the Federal Reserve to quickly raise interest rates to combat the hottest inflationary environment in 40 years.

The Nasdaq Composite was dragged down too, with tech stocks hurt as bond yields continued to climb, leaving the 10-year yield at its highest since the COVID crisis emerged.

Underscoring Wall Street's rate-hike jitters, Goldman Sachs said Monday it expects the US central bank to raise interest rates by four times this year.

Here's where US indexes stood at 9:30 a.m. on Monday:

• S&P 500: 4,635.37, down 0.89%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 36,073.94, down 0.44% (157.72 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 14,697.61, down 1.60%

Markets are also looking ahead to Wednesday's consumer price inflation report, which will likely reinforce the Fed's goal of beginning to raise interest rates for the first time since the start of the pandemic. The CPI inflation rate was 6.8% in December, the highest since 1982.

Oil prices slipped. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.2% to $78.74 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, shed 0.1%, at $81.67.

Gold lost 0.2% to $1,793 per ounce. The 10-year yield gained 2 basis points, at 1.791%.

Bitcoin fell 2.6% to $40,759.14