WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After ending the previous session mostly higher, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing modestly lower.
The Dow dipped 113.52 points or 0.2 percent to 53,463.88, the Nasdaq slipped 21.10 points or 0.1 percent to 26,130.20 and the S&P 500 edged down 1.58 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 7,675.70.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of AI giant Nvidia's (NVDA) second quarter results after the close of today's trading.
In light of recent concerns about AI spending, Nvidia's results and guidance could have a significant impact on the outlook for the sector.
'Assuming there is no major movement in either a positive or negative direction in geopolitical terms, tonight's second quarter results from Nvidia are likely to set the tone for markets through the remainder of the week,' said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
He added, 'Investors typically assume Nvidia will always beat expectations, so the AI chip giant will have to produce or say something very special to truly impress the market.'
Traders were also looking ahead to Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh's speech at the Jackson Hole economic symposium on Friday.
Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off the Commerce Department's typically closely watched report showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased by slightly more than expected in the month of July.
The Commerce Department said its personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose by 0.2 percent in July after edging down by 0.1 percent in June. Economists had expected prices to inch up by 0.1 percent.
The report also said the annual rate of growth by the PCE price index came in at 3.7 percent in July, unchanged from in June. The annual rate of growth was expected to dip to 3.6 percent.
Excluding food and energy prices, the core PCE price index still rose by 0.2 percent in July after inching up by 0.1 percent in June. The increase matched economist estimates.
The annual rate of growth by the core PCE price index was 3.3 percent in July, unchanged from June and in line with expectations.
Sector News
Most of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.
However, gold stocks moved sharply lower amid a decrease in the price of the precious metal, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 2.9 percent.
Significant weakness was also visible among pharmaceutical stocks, as reflected by the 2 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index.
Meanwhile, computer hardware and networking stocks moved notably higher over the course of the session, driving the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index and the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 1.9 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.
Natural gas stocks also showed a strong move to the upside amid a surge in the price of the commodity, with the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index climbing by 1.5 percent.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index, China's Shanghai Composite Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index all climbed by 0.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index crept up by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.3 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries gave back ground after moving notably higher over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose 2.5 basis points to 4.664 percent.
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