NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks tumbled again Wednesday following the release of core CPI figures which showed inflation continuing to rage.

The annualized core CPI hit 6.2 percent against forecasts of 6 percent.

"Everyone wants energy and food and labor costs to all come down, but at the same time, our mechanism for doing that is to increase interest rates," Aviva Investors' Susan Schmidt told CNBC Wednesday.

"You're working at countermeasures and it's worrisome for investors because they're trying to figure out how this impacts business overall and that's why I think you've seen such whipsaw action in the major indices."

The technology sector again took the brunt of the assault on stocks Wednesday. The Nasdaq Composite fell 373.44 points or 3.18 percent to close at 11,364.24.

The Dow Jones industrials tumbled 326.63 points or 1.02 percent to 33,834.11.

The Standard and Poor's dropped 65.86 points or 1.63 percent to 3,935.19.

The U.S. dollar consolidated and added to recent gains. The euro, after attempting yet another rally, wilted to 1.0518 around the New York close Wednesday.

The British pound sank to 1.2242. The Swiss franc was steady, but weaker, at 0.9940.

The Canadian dollar edged up to 1.2997. The Australian dollar weakened to 0.6934. The New Zealand dollar fell sharply to 0.6290.

Overseas, in Europe, the UK, and Asia, stocks were on the rise. The CAC 40 in Paris closed 2.50 percent higher. The German Dax rose 2.17 percent. In London, the FTSE 100 advanced 1.44 percent.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng jumped 0.97 percent. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 0.18 percent. The Australian All Ordinaries climbed 0.26 percent. In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 rose 0.03 percent. South Korea's Kospi Composite went against the trend, dipping 0.17 percent.