Inflation hits 3.7%, stocks fall; Social Security to rise 3.6% in 2027

The consumer price index rose 3.7% from a year earlier in September, above the 3.6% economists expected and up from 3.4% in August. Core prices, excluding food and energy, rose 2.6%. Gasoline drove much of the increase. The Nasdaq fell about 1.9% and the S&P 500 about 1.1%, as traders raised bets on a Fed rate hike this month; the Dow ended nearly flat. Separately, the Social Security Administration announced a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment for 2027 for about 76 million people.