Verizon stock pulls back after US inflation remains subdued but stubborn

• Verizon stock traded 2.6% lower intraday on Thursday.
• Dow Jones fell after poor inflation showing in September.
• Hurricane Milton generally appears to be less damaging to Florida than expected.
• September CPI inflation was stronger than economists expected, may reduce chance of rate cut.

Verizon (VZ) stock sailed 2.6% lower on Thursday as US inflation failed to fall as much as expected. Shares of Verizon fell to their lowest level in a month.

The impact of Hurricane Milton is still uncertain on Thursday. After making landfall in Florida on Wednesday, there appears to be lots of flooding and destroyed homes but less statewide damage as expected. Ahead of the storm, Verizon had decided to be more lenient with post-paid services to Florida residents in the two weeks following Milton’s landfall.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) has shed 0.36% through the afternoon, while the NASDAQ is down about half that level.

Verizon stock news: Market unhappy with stubborn CPI

The US Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September showed that annual headline inflation was above consensus but arrived slightly below August’s figure. Core CPI, which is more important to the Fed, came in above consensus and August’s number.

Stronger, more stubborn inflation reduced the chances of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve (Fed) next month, which sent stock prices lower.

Initial Jobless Claims for last week hit 258K, well above the 225K from the previous week, and this news helped to ameliorate some of the concerns with the inflation print.

Overall, lower interest rates will help companies with large debt profiles like Verizon. On Tuesday, the telecom’s management said they had lined up the $9.6 billion in short-term funding it needs to acquire Frontier Communications.

Verizon stock chart

Verizon stock halted near the $43 level, which had acted as resistance in January and April earlier this year. Below here lies support in the thicket between $40.80 and $42.50 where the 50-day, 100-day and 200-day Simple Moving Averages (SMA) line up.

VZ daily stock chart