NEW YORK, June 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks fell sharply on Friday as investors fretted about surging inflation.

       The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 880.00 points, or 2.73 percent, to 31,392.79. The S&P 500 decreased 116.96 points, or 2.91 percent, to 3,900.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 414.21 points, or 3.52 percent, to 11,340.02.

       All the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with consumer discretionary and technology down 4.16 percent and 3.89 percent, respectively, leading the losses.

       The pullback came after data showed U.S. consumer inflation in May came in hotter than expected.

       The U.S. Labor Department reported Friday that U.S. consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.0 percent in May, above the 0.7 percent consensus, for an 8.6 percent year-on-year increase. The May CPI was the largest 12-month increase since the period ending December 1981.

       The core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.6 percent, above the 0.5 percent consensus, for a 6.0 percent year-on-year increase.

       "Inflation continued to rear its ugly head in May," Will Compernolle, senior economist at FHN Financial, said Friday in a note.

       "While this report won't change the Fed's plans to hike 50 bps next week, inflation needs to show some signs of moderation or the Fed may need to increase its hawkishness even more," said Compernolle.

       For the week, the Dow dropped 4.6 percent, the S&P 500 slid 5.1 percent and the Nasdaq tumbled 5.6 percent.