Wall Street's main indexes closed slightly lower on Wednesday (Thursday AEST) after United States inflation came in hotter than expected, while investors remained cautious ahead of Nvidia's closely watched earnings report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 113.5 points, or 0.2%, to 53,463.9, while the S&P 500 slipped 1.6 points, or 0.02%, to 7,675.7. The Nasdaq Composite declined 21.1 points, or 0.1%, to 26,130.2.
Moderna fell 5.8% during regular trading, giving back some of Tuesday's gains, although the stock remained well above levels seen before the company released late-stage cancer vaccine trial data last week.
Meta gained about 1.1%, leading advances among megacap stocks, after agreeing to pay up to US$18 billion and make major changes to Facebook and Instagram to settle claims from U.S. states that the platforms harmed children.
Intuit dropped 3.2% after the TurboTax maker forecast annual revenue below Wall Street expectations, while J.M. Smucker rose 4.3% after forecasting a smaller-than-expected decline in annual sales.
Nvidia shares fell 1.6% ahead of its quarterly results. After the closing bell, the AI chipmaker reported better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter results and issued revenue guidance above analysts' estimates.
Its shares jumped about 4% in after-hours trading.
Among economic data, a Commerce Department report showed annual U.S. inflation rose 3.7% in the 12 months through July, slightly above expectations.
Separate data showed the economy grew at an annualised rate of 1.5% in the second quarter.
The latest inflation reading added uncertainty to the Federal Reserve's policy outlook, increasing the importance of upcoming economic data. Investors will focus on Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's speech at Jackson Hole on Friday.
The Fed's next scheduled meeting is in September, placing the policy decision firmly in focus during a month that has historically been challenging for equities.
Markets are pricing a 36.5% probability of an interest rate hike at that meeting, according to the CME Group FedWatch Tool.
Meanwhile, a report citing a spokesperson for Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Tehran and Oman had reached agreements over their respective shares of the Strait of Hormuz and its revenues.
On the bond markets, the 10-year and two-year Treasury yields rose 0.6% and 0.8%, respectively, to 4.649% and 4.209%.
