Wall Street slips on hot inflation data, Nvidia earnings in focus

Wall Street closed slightly lower Wednesday after US inflation data came in hotter than expected, with investors staying cautious ahead of Nvidia's quarterly results. The Dow fell 0.21%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.02%, and the Nasdaq dropped 0.08%. July inflation rose 3.7% year-over-year, exceeding forecasts, while the economy grew 1.5% in Q2. These figures fuel uncertainty about Federal Reserve policy, with traders pricing a 38.1% chance of a rate hike at September's meeting. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole comments will be closely watched. Nvidia shares fell 1.6% before its earnings release, while CrowdStrike gained 2% ahead of its results. Moderna dropped 5.8%, and Meta rose over 1% after announcing an $18 billion settlement with US states over child safety issues.