Major US indices opened lower Wednesday after annual inflation climbed to its highest level in 31 years.

The Dow Jones fell 45 points, or 0.13%, to 36,274 points at 9.40 a.m. EDT.

The S&P 500 was down 15 points, or 0.32%, to 4,670, after ending eight consecutive days of increase on Tuesday.

The Nasdaq fell 121, or 0.76%, to 15,765. The tech-heavy index ended its 11-day streak during the previous session.

The decline came after US Labor Department figures showed the consumer price index (CPI) rose 6.2% in October -- the largest 12-month increase since November 1990.

Core CPI jumped 4.6% year-on-year, its largest 12-month increase since August 1991.

Amid worries of high inflation, the VIX volatility index was up 2.2% to 18.17.

The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes rose 2.7% to 1.488%, while the US dollar index was up 0.2% to 94.14.

Oil prices were up with international benchmark Brent crude trading at $85.03 per barrel -- a 0.3% gain. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate rose 0.05% to $84.19.

Investors rushed to precious metals to protect themselves from high inflation. Gold added 1.7% to $1,863 per ounce and silver rose 3.1% to $25.05.

After climbing to an all-time high of $68,444 on Tuesday, Bitcoin extended its record to $69,000 at 9.15 a.m. EDT./aa