U.S. stocks ticked down after surprisingly heated inflation data led to traders keeping their powder dry ahead of earnings results after the bell from artificial-intelligence giant Nvidia.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 113.52 points, or 0.21%, to 53463.88. The S&P 500 declined 1.58 points, or 0.02%, to 7675.70, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 21.10 points, or 0.08%, to 26130.20.
Oil futures lost 13 cents, or 0.2% to $82.23 a barrel following reports that officials from Oman and Iran were once again negotiating the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index rose 3.7% on an annual basis in July, remaining far above the Federal Reserve's target inflation level. Investors are waiting to hear how Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh reconciles his patient approach to rate policy with his backing of the 2% target.
Spurred by the inflation data, the yield on the 30-year bond rose 0.11 percentage point to 5.185%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose 0.026 percentage point to 4.663%. The yield on the policy-sensitive two-year Treasury rose 0.021 percentage point to 4.222%.
The U.S. dollar rose against rivals after inflation and factory data.
Orders for durable goods, products such as refrigerators and cars designed to last for three years or more, rose 1.1% in July to $339.3 billion.
The stronger greenback weighed on dollar-denominated commodities. Gold futures lost $39.90, or 0.9% to $4598.20 a troy ounce. Copper futures edged lower in New York, retreating from record highs, to close down 11.50 cents per pound, or 1.71%, at $6.5945.
Nvidia shares fell 1.6% to $209.66 ahead of the chip maker's fiscal second-quarter earnings results after the bell. As the largest company by market capitalization in the world, Nvidia's quarterly reports speak to broader AI trends. Recently, some AI skeptics have questioned the debt loads that Nvidia and other hyperscalers are amassing to pay for data-center expansion. One recent red flag was weakness in the corporate bonds of Nvidia, Oracle, Meta Platforms and others, said Lorenzo Di Mattia, founder and chief investment officer at hedge fund-firm Sibilla Capital.
Meta shares rose 1.1% to $576.14 after the Facebook and Instagram owner agreed to an $18 billion settlement with 48 state attorneys general, ending a federal trial about social media's harm to teenagers and shifting legal responsibility for social media to tech companies.
Abercrombie & Fitch rallied 36% to $147.75 after the youth-fashion retailer said its profits would be bolstered by a tariff refund and resilient demand. Shares touched a new 52-week high of $154.48 during the trading session.
Revolution Medicines rose 1.9% to $215.44 after the Food and Drug Administration granted commercial approval to the biotech firm's pancreatic-cancer pill, a major milestone in a fight against an especially lethal form of the disease. Revolution shares have more than doubled this year.
In deal activity, fund-management firm Vanguard Group struck a $4 billion deal to acquire financial technology platform Altruist, seeking to expand its offerings to financial advisors.