US Stocks Stall as Fed Governor Waller Signals December Rate Hike and CPI Runs Hot

US equity markets came under pressure on November 10, 2026, after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said a December rate hike is likely and left open the possibility of a larger 50-basis-point increase if inflation data remains elevated. His remarks followed a hotter-than-expected CPI report and lifted the probability of a 50-basis-point move from 0% to 15% in a single session, according to market pricing.

The S&P 500 fell roughly 0.6%, the Dow lost around 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.7%, with pre-market futures offering only a tentative recovery picture. Dow futures pointed to a gain of 156 to 266 points while S&P 500 futures were flat to marginally higher and Nasdaq-100 futures were slightly in the red. The QQQ ETF, which tracks the Nasdaq-100, was testing levels below its 200-day moving average, raising questions among technicians about whether a bottom had formed or whether the move was a dead-cat bounce.

Nvidia was a focal point of market attention across two separate storylines. The stock had fallen 4% in Monday's session and edged only slightly higher in pre-market trading, sitting around $181.22. Jim Cramer declared the stock less attractive than it was a week earlier, and headlines continued to circulate about an ongoing board investigation. Among pre-market earnings movers, AAON surged roughly 21% to $76.36 and Sanmina jumped nearly 17% to $175.01 on strong quarterly results, while Take-Two Interactive gained about 4.3% after raising its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook citing strong GTA VI preorder demand. On the downside, Digital Turbine tumbled nearly 23% to $8.74 and Leidos Holdings fell about 9.6% to $122.79 in early trading.