What Happened?

A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after a combination of hot inflation data and geopolitical turmoil rattled investor confidence. 

The Producer Price Index (PPI) surged 0.7% in February, more than doubling economist estimates of 0.3%. This spike in wholesale costs, driven by rising tariffs and manufacturing inputs, signaled a shift toward structural, "sticky" inflation that may persist longer than anticipated. Anxiety intensified as Brent crude jumped 4% to $108 a barrel following reports that Israel struck a major Iranian gas facility. With Iran threatening retaliatory strikes on Gulf energy infrastructure, Wall Street increasingly priced in a scenario where rising energy costs flow directly to consumers. 

The selloff deepened as the Federal Reserve maintained interest rates at 3.5% to 3.75%, explicitly citing the "uncertain" economic impact of the escalating Middle East conflict. While the Fed signaled one potential cut later in the year, Chair Jerome Powell admitted that progress on inflation had been slower than hoped, dousing dreams of a more aggressive pivot. This hawkish caution, reflected in the Dow's drop and 1% declines in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, suggests that monetary easing may be delayed deep into the third quarter.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Hardware & Infrastructure company Xerox (NASDAQ: XRX) fell 3.4%. Is now the time to buy Xerox? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• IT Services & Consulting company ASGN (NYSE: ASGN) fell 3.5%. Is now the time to buy ASGN? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Government & Technical Consulting company Maximus (NYSE: MMS) fell 3.8%. Is now the time to buy Maximus? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Data & Business Process Services company CoStar (NASDAQ: CSGP) fell 2.5%. Is now the time to buy CoStar? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Insurance Brokers company Ryan Specialty (NYSE: RYAN) fell 3.1%. Is now the time to buy Ryan Specialty? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On Maximus (MMS)

Maximus’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 4 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 8 days ago when the stock dropped 4.8% on the news that reports revealed escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Oil prices declined amidst the uncertainty. Such geopolitical events typically lead to a 'risk-off' sentiment among investors, who tend to sell equities and seek safer assets. The market's negative reaction occurred despite comments from the U.S. President suggesting the conflict was nearly complete, indicating that investors are weighing the immediate military actions more heavily than political assurances.

Maximus is down 20.1% since the beginning of the year, and at $69.12 per share, it is trading 30.1% below its 52-week high of $98.93 from January 2026. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Maximus’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at only $807.23.

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