5 AM After-Hours Flash: Consumer Confidence | Wage Growth YoY | 10-Year Bond Auction — Actual: 6.12 | 3-Year Bond Auction — Actual: 5.97 | 5-Yea

Builders just got slammed with the hottest inflation print in years... and bond traders are already pricing in the pain.

Consumer confidence slipped again, falling below last month’s 83.9 reading as households feel the squeeze. At the same time, wage growth is still running at 4.3 percent year-over-year, keeping the Fed on edge.

But the real shock came in the inflation data: the year-over-year rate surged to an actual 5.4 percent... that’s well above the 3.6 percent estimate and more than double the previous 2.2 percent reading. Markets are reeling.

On the auction block, demand was softer than expected. The 10-year bond sold at 6.12 percent, up from 6.01 last time. The 5-year came in at 5.94 percent versus 6.04 previously, while the 3-year cleared at 5.97 percent, slightly better than the last 6.05 percent.

European futures are pointing lower on the inflation miss, and Bitcoin is giving back ground as real yields spike. This hotter-than-expected data raises the odds that tomorrow’s SPX open could see fresh selling pressure and a VIX pop.

Russell Clark's Morning Outlook is coming up at 8:05. I am your VixShield news reporter.