U.S. Stocks Slip as July PCE Inflation Remains Elevated, Treasury Yields Rise

U.S. stocks edged lower on Wednesday, with the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq Composite all seeing declines, reacting to the earlier release of July's Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index. The PCE, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, increased 3.7% year-over-year, unchanged from June and slightly above economists' expectations of 3.6%. Core PCE, excluding food and energy, rose 3.3% annually. This sticky inflation data contributed to a rise in the 10-year Treasury yield to 4.67%, up from 4.64% on Tuesday, as traders anticipate a nearly three-in-four chance of a Fed rate hike by year-end.