The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that U.S. and Canadian stocks tumbled Wednesday after hotter-than-expected American inflation data threw cold water on hopes that the Federal Reserve would begin cutting interest rates as early as June. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that bond yields in both countries rose sharply, with benchmark 10-year government yields reaching their highest level since November of last year. All of the major North American stock indexes veered sharply lower at the opening bell after the U.S. Labour Department's Consumer Price Index report landed north of consensus, a reminder that inflation's road back down to the Fed's 2-per-cent target will remain a long and meandering one. "The stickiness of inflation data caused a 'sell first ask questions later' mentality," said Ryan Detrick at Carson Group in Omaha, Neb. Financial markets have now priced in a dwindling 16.5-per-cent likelihood of a 25-basis-point Fed rate-cut in June. The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended at 22,199.13, down 162.65 points. Nine of Toronto's 10 main sectors lost ground. The exception was energy which notched a gain of 1.8 per cent as the price of oil settled 1.2 per cent higher at $86.21 (U.S.) a barrel.