Stocks opened in negative territory Tuesday, with losses accelerating into the close. Investors were already skittish ahead of tomorrow's Fed decision and this morning's disappointing inflation data did little to calm nerves.
Ahead of the opening bell, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the Employment Cost Index (ECI), which measures the cost of labor to businesses and governments, was up 1.2% quarter-to-quarter in Q1 – higher than the 0.9% increase in Q4 and the 1% gain economists were expecting. Year-over-year, the ECI rose 4.2%.
