Growth and technology stocks, proxied by the QQQ ETF, fell after the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) report came in above economists' forecasts. [3, 16] The unexpected strength in both headline and core inflation has heightened investor concern that the Federal Reserve will implement further interest rate hikes to cool the economy. This macroeconomic news sent Treasury yields higher, which negatively impacts the valuation of growth stocks whose earnings are weighted further in the future.