The S&P 500 tumbled and interest rates spiked Wednesday after consumer prices rose more than expected in January, raising concern that inflation may reignite.

The S&P 500 shed 0.27% to end at 6,051.97, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 225.09 points, or 0.5%, to 44,368.56. The Nasdaq Composite eked out a 0.03% gain to close at 19,649.95.

"The hotter than expected CPI confirms investors' anxiety regarding too-hot inflation that will keep the Fed on the sidelines (as opposed to cutting rates)," Sameer Samana, Wells Fargo Investment Institute head of global equities and real assets, said. "While risk markets can go higher, it will be a choppier trajectory than the last two years."

A sell-off occurred during the trading day after January's consumer price index jumped 0.5% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 3%. Both were more than the 0.3% and 2.9% increases expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core CPI rose 0.4% on the month and 3.3% for the past 12 months, both higher than expected.

The 10-year Treasury yield, a benchmark for mortgages, auto loans and credit cards, jumped to a session high of 4.66%. Shares of some mega-cap technology stocks, including Amazon and Alphabet, declined. Consumer shares and bank stocks at risk of slower spending and a weaker economy also retreated.

Helping sentiment were comments from House Speaker Mike Johnson who said, according to Reuters, the White House was considering reciprocal tariff exemptions on products like pharmaceuticals and automobiles. GM and Ford shares closed in positive territory, along with Eli Lilly.

Gains from Tesla, Apple and Palantir also helped curb losses. CVS Health shares popped nearly 15% on a major fourth-quarter earnings beat.

The latest inflation data makes it less likely the Fed will resume its rate-cutting campaign anytime soon and now raises concern perhaps the next move could even be a hike.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testified before the House Committee on Financial Services on Wednesday and said the latest CPI data is a reminder that the Fed has made "great progress" towards bringing inflation closer to its 2% target but that it is "not quite there yet."

"We want to keep policy restrictive for now," he said before lawmakers in his second appearance on Capitol Hill this week. Powell's comments follow his Tuesday testimony to the Senate Banking Committee, during which he said the Fed was in no hurry to make further interest rate cuts.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday morning before the CPI data was released that interest rates should be lowered.