I think you have this opposite. Bonds have a fixed nominal return, so if inflation picks up unexpectedly, that nominal return erodes in real (inflation adjusted

I think you have this opposite. Bonds have a fixed nominal return, so if inflation picks up unexpectedly, that nominal return erodes in real (inflation adjusted) terms, so investors flee bonds. That said, stocks don’t tend to perform well either because of expectations over interest rates increasing to combat inflation and an ensuing recession.