U.S. equities slipped at the open on Wednesday after stronger-than-expected consumer inflation data increased bets on a Federal Reserve rate increase later this year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.06% to 53,547.68 points within minutes of the market opening, while the S&P 500 declined 0.14% to 7,666.88. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.20% to 26,099.576. The declines came as the August Consumer Price Index report showed a pickup in price pressures, reinforcing expectations for a 25-basis-point rate hike by the Fed at one of its final two policy meetings of 2026.
Investors also positioned ahead of Nvidia’s after-hours earnings release, a key catalyst for tech benchmarks given the company’s heavy weighting in major indices. The chipmaker’s results are expected to provide further direction for semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related equities amid elevated volatility in the sector.
Futures tied to the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all pointed to continued pressure into the regular session, with traders citing the inflation print as the primary driver of the early decline. The CPI data, released at 8:30 a.m. ET, showed a 0.3% month-over-month increase in August, above the 0.2% forecast by economists surveyed by Reuters. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.3% on the month, matching expectations but remaining above the Fed’s 2% target.
Market focus now shifts to Nvidia’s earnings call scheduled for after the closing bell, where analysts will assess revenue growth, guidance and demand trends for AI-driven data center chips. The company’s stock has been a bellwether for the broader tech sector this year, with its performance influencing broader market sentiment.
Federal Reserve policymakers have signaled a data-dependent approach to policy, with futures markets implying a roughly 60% probability of a rate hike by December, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool. The central bank’s next policy decision is due on September 17.
