Update: US Equity Indexes Slip as Investors Await Nvidia's Earnings After July's PCE Inflation Rate Accelerates

01:33 PM EDT, 08/26/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data, and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.) US equity indexes fell while most government bond yields rose after the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge accelerated sequentially in July and as investors awaited AI bellwether Nvidia's (NVDA) quarterly earnings after the bell. The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.2% to 26,074.5, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% to 53,442.1 and the S&P 500 edged 0.1% lower to 7,670.6 after midday Wednesday. Industrials and energy topped gainers while consumer discretionary and communication services led decliners. In economic news, the headline personal consumption expenditure price index rose by 0.2%, following a 0.1% decline in June, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Wednesday. That's above the consensus for a 0.1% gain in a Bloomberg-compiled survey, keeping the annual headline rate at 3.7%, which also exceeded the expected 3.6% print. The Fed's preferred core measure, which excludes food and energy, climbed 0.2% in July, as expected. That's faster than the June print of 0.1%. The annual core gauge held steady at 3.3%, as projected. The probability of the Federal Reserve extending its policy pause to December stood at 28% by Wednesday afternoon, according to the FedWatch tool, almost unchanged from a day ago. Currently, there is a 45% chance of interest rates moving up by 25 basis points to a 3.75% to 4% target rate by December and a 24% likelihood of the fed funds rate being raised by 50 basis points to 4% to 4.25% by the end of this year. On Tuesday, Boston Fed President Susan Collins said the central bank may have to tighten its monetary policy soon, unless inflation continues to cool. Most US Treasury yields rose. The 10-year yield rose 2.5 basis points to 4.66% and the two-year climbed 2.2 basis points to 4.23%. US economic growth, measured by gross domestic product, rose by 1.5% in Q2, unrevised from the advance estimate released last month, as expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. GDP rose by 2.1% in Q1. New orders for US durable goods rose 1.1% in July, up from 0.5% in the previous month, compared with expectations of a smaller increase of 0.5% in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. In geopolitical news, the Iranian military said it reached a revenue-sharing deal with Oman on the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg reported. "Agreements have been reached regarding each country's share of the strait's waters as well as Iran and Oman's share of its revenues," Bloomberg cited the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' spokesman Hossein Mohebbi on Wednesday as telling the state-run Sepah News agency. Reuters cited the IRGC as saying the strait would not open unless the US met Tehran's conditions under an interim ceasefire agreement that was struck in June before unravelling. Those conditions include an end to the US blockade on Iranian ports, compensation and removal of sanctions, the news outlet said. The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract gained 0.5% to $82.76 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent rose 0.1% to $88.68 per barrel. In company news, Truist downgraded Nike (NKE) to hold from buy while adjusting its price target to $42 from $47. Shares of the sports footwear and apparel retailer were down 2.1%, the Dow's steepest decline. Meta Platforms (META) has agreed to pay up to $16.68 billion to resolve claims brought by several US states that the tech giant used its platforms to "ensnare" youth and teens, according to a federal court filing.