• Inflation data came in hotter than expected.
• Paramount Global is cutting 800 jobs, or roughly 3% of its workforce.
• The rom-com genre could be poised for a comeback.

Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:

1. Breaking hearts

The Dow Jones Industrial Average had its biggest drop since March 2023 on Tuesday, shedding more than 500 points. At its worst point in the trading session, the Dow lost more than 700 points or nearly 2%. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite didn't fare much better, dropping 1.37% and 1.8%, respectively. Inflation data came in above analysts' estimates (more on that below), raising doubts that the Federal Reserve will be able to cut rates several times this year. That hope has driven the bull market so far this year. The 2-year Treasury yield also rose above 4.66%, while the 10-year yield topped 4.32%. Follow live market updates here.

2. Hotter than expected

Inflation is sticking around like a bad ex. Prices for goods and services climbed more than expected in January. The consumer price index rose 0.3% last month and was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Economists had expected a climb of 0.2% for the month and an annual increase of 2.9%, according to a Dow Jones survey. Shelter prices rose 0.6% in January, accounting for more than two-thirds of the headline increase.

3. Ending things

Paramount Global is laying off hundreds of employees, CEO Bob Bakish said Tuesday in an internal memo to employees. The company — whose assets include CBS, Paramount Pictures, Pluto TV and Paramount+, as well as the cable networks Nickelodeon, BET and Comedy Central — is cutting about 800 jobs, or roughly 3% of its workforce, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC's Alex Sherman. The news came a day after it announced that the CBS broadcast of Super Bowl 58 was the most-watched television show in history. Paramount has been losing money on its streaming platform, Paramount+ and is considering merger and acquisition options.

4. Miscalculated

Lyft had a big error after the bell Tuesday. Its finance chief acknowledged on an earnings call that the rideshare company initially misstated its margin expansion in its slide deck. It had indicated 500 basis points (5%) of growth for 2024 until she clarified that the actual increase should be 50 basis points (0.5%). Shares of the company had soared more than 60% right after the markets closed, but that fell to a 16% increase after the correction. The quick reversal represented a market cap decline of more than $2 billion for a company that closed the day with a less than $5 billion valuation.

5. Romance in the air

Maybe Hollywood needed a break from romantic comedies. But as major studios turn away from big budget superhero flicks and pledge to bring more mid-budget films back to theaters, the genre is poised for a comeback. The most recent rom-com from Sony, "Anyone But You," was a sleeper hit at the box office. It debuted in December with $6 million in ticket sales during its opening weekend but that number kept climbing. It's since pulled in $170 million globally, including $80 million from domestic theaters, according to data from Comscore. That's building on the success of Paramount's "The Lost City" and Universal's "Ticket to Paradise" in 2022, proving audiences will still show up for a love story.

— CNBC's Lisa Kailai Han, Jeff Cox, Alex Sherman, Ari Levy and Sarah Whitten contributed to this report.

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