NEW YORK, New York – Positive gains on U.S. stock markets evaporated in late trading Tuesday, with all indices plummeting to finish in the red.

The Consumer Price Index for last month was revealed at 1.50 percent, the largest monthly increase in nearly 17 years. “Inflation is still a really big part of the macro narrative here (but) we’re seeing some encouraging signs beneath the surface,” Mike Reynolds, vice president of investment strategy at Glenmede, told Reuters Tuesday.

“Market has been picking up today on the fact that the CPI was a bit softer than expected… Anything that indicates a softening momentum on the inflation front is going to mean that the Fed perhaps may not have to go as aggressively in tightening monetary policy.” It was not to be, however, as markets reversed course late in the day.

The Standard and Poor’s 500 fell 15.08 points or 0.34 percent to 4,397.45.

The Dow Jones industrials lost 87.72 points or 0.26 percent to 34,220.36.

The Nasdaq Composite slipped 40.38 points or 0.30 percent to 13,371.57.

The U.S. dollar was mixed. It gained against the euro which tumbled to 1.0829 around the New York close Tuesday. The British pound sank to 1.3000. The Japanese yen clawed back a minor portion of recent losses to last trade at 125.33. The Swiss franc firmed to 0.9325.

The Canadian dollar was little changed at 1.2642. The Australian and New Zealand dollars traded higher than their Asian closes at 0.7454 and 0.6855 respectively.

On overseas markets, the FTSE 100 in London fell 0.55 percent. The German Dax was down 0.48 percent. The Paris-based CAC 40 slipped 0.28 percent.

China’s Shanghai Composite advanced 42.02 points or 1.33 percent to 3,209.14.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rose 110.83 points or 0.52 percent to 21,319.13.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed down 486.54 points or 1.81 percent at 26,334.98.

The Australian All Ordinaries declined 37.70 points or 0.49 percent to 7,735.50.

South Korea’s Kospi Composite fell 26.34 points or 0.98 percent to 2,666.76.

In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 let go 42.86 points or 0.36 percent to 11,889.17.