Wind of panic and crash on the New York Stock Exchange. The day after the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) decision to keep its interest rates unchanged, the publication of the latest figures for the ICP inflation index stunned the markets. In just a few minutes, more than $470 billion in market capitalization vanished on Wall Street.
In brief
- The ICP inflation index is at its highest level in 4 months, reviving fears of a new rate hike by the Fed.
- Pulled down by the 12% plunge of Alphabet (Google), the stock market suffered a massive sell-off of $470 billion.
- Bitcoin stable around $80,000 is resisting the crash of traditional financial markets.
Inflation (ICP): the figures behind the Wall Street crisis
The trigger for this stock market fall on Wall Street is the publication of official data on the ICP inflation index (PCE), the indicator most monitored by the Fed to pilot its monetary policy. This price shock comes in a tense context because the day before, the Fed announced that it would keep its interest rates unchanged. But the ICP inflation figures came out significantly above forecasts.
The underlying KPI inflation index (Core) stands at +2.8% over one year (compared to +2.6% expected), with an increase of +0.3% over one month. Overall ICP inflation climbs to +2.7% over one year (compared to +2.5% forecast), its highest level in 4 months. This data immediately revives the fear of high rates. For stock market investors, the Fed could block the rate cut or decide to raise rates again in December. Which causes panic selling on Wall Street, wiping out $470 billion in stocks.
Fall of Google on the stock market, a crash that hides its crypto project
At the heart of the stock market turmoil, Alphabet (Google) suffered a real crash at the opening of Wall Street with a fall of more than 12% in its action, pulling the rest of the Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq down following costs deemed too high in AI.
| Action/Ticker | Drop at opening | Stock market impact (Capitalization) |
| Google / Alphabet ($GOOGL) | -12.80% | Fall of the tech sector |
| Amazon ($AMZN) | -9.01% | Sudden fall in the e-commerce sector |
| Broadcom ($AVGO) | -8.26% | Massive sale on chips and semiconductors |
| Nvidia ($NVDA) | -6.90% | Heavy clearances on the graphics card giant |
| Microsoft ($MSFT) | -6.70% | Marked decline in software and Cloud values |
However, this fall in Google stock masks a major announcement for the financial market and Web3. A few hours earlier, Google presented its new crypto banking custody service based on Multi-Party Compute (MPC) technology. This service, already used by Google to secure its own assets on Ethereum and Solana, aims to offer banks an ultra-secure custody solution against AI-powered cyberattacks.
Bitcoin at $80,000 resists Wall Street crash
While Wall Street and the stock market are collapsing, the crypto market is showing impressive stability. The price of Bitcoin (BTC) remains firmly above the psychological threshold of $80,000, refusing to give in to the general panic in the financial markets. The defense of this zone shows that crypto investors remain buyers.
Moreover, a recent transfer of $500 million in bitcoin to Coinbase Prime signals that large institutional players are closely monitoring the Fed’s monetary policy. So if BTC maintains the $80,000 level in the face of the Wall Street crash, it will strengthen its role as an alternative safe haven in the face of inflation and the decisions of the Fed.
The explosion in the ICP inflation index swept away optimism from the stock market and reignited fear of the Fed’s rates. But in the face of this $470 billion purge on Wall Street, the firmness of bitcoin at $80,000 and the arrival of Google in crypto custody show that digital assets are staying on a solid course despite the financial storm.
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