By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com — The S&P 500 deepened losses on Thursday as investors remain wary of bullish bets on stocks ahead of an inflation report that could embolden the Federal Reserve to stick with its aggressive plans to tighten monetary policy measures.

They fell 1.4% and 1.1% respectively, while the was at 1.8%.

Growth stocks continue to pile on the pressure, led by Netflix (NASDAQ:) and META, with the latter enduring a downbeat start to life under its new ticker “META.”

Rising Treasury yields continue to cast doubt on growth areas of the market including big tech as investors await inflation data due Friday that will filter into the Fed’s thinking about the path of rate hikes.

“They need more data…the CPI for June and for July will help the Fed get real clarity as to what’s going to happen with inflation,” Robert Conzo, CEO of The Wealth Alliance told Investing.com in an interview on Thursday. 

Economists predict that May’s inflation will rise by 0.7%, which is faster than April’s 0.3%. However, price pressure should remain constant for 12 months at 8.3%. 

If the CPI continues to tick down and inflation starts to quell…then they [the Fed]Conzo stated that we should delay any future interest rate increases. The trajectory of inflation and how quickly it falls will determine if there is a chance for a recession.

Stitch Fix CNBC reports that (NASDAQ:) was the latest retailer to raise inflation concerns. The retailer is reportedly planning to reduce 15% of its salaried workers, according to an internal memo.

Tesla (NASDAQ) lost some of its gains but avoided the wider market selloff after UBS upgraded to buy neutral. This was based on attractive valuations.  

Five Below (NASDAQ) plunged more than 8% following the release of full-year guidance. This was in response to mixed numbers that were not on top.

Also, financials fell as a result of a decrease in banks and worries about a weaker economy continuing to flatten yield curve. This tends to reduce net interest margins, which limits banks’ profit from lending, and also impacts the profitability.

Capital One Financial (NYSE:), Wells Fargo Bank of America Corp and (NYSE 🙂 fell more than 3%.