Dow Jones Today: Stocks Slip in Early Trading as Investors Await Nvidia Earnings

Major stock indexes were lower early Wednesday as investors prepare for the eagerly anticipated release of Nvidia’s quarterly earnings report after the closing bell.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were each down 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite was off 0.5%. The major indexes ended slightly higher on Tuesday after trading within narrow ranges the entire session. The Dow inched higher to close at a record high for the second straight day.

The U.S. equities market has been in a holding pattern this week awaiting what is widely regarded as the most important earnings release of the quarter. Nvidia, the artificial intelligence chipmaker at the heart of the AI revolution, has blown away market expectations in recent quarters, and investors are looking for more of the same Wednesday.

Nvidia shares were down 1.4% in early trading Wednesday, as most mega-cap stocks moved lower. Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), Meta Platforms (META) and Amazon (AMZN) were all losing ground, while Apple (AAPL) was up slightly.

While the Nvidia release is the marquee event of the day, investors will also be keeping a close eye on quarterly reports from Salesforce (CRM) and CrowdStrike (CRWD) after the close. CrowdStrike shares were down about 1%, while Salesforce was little-changed.

The economic data calendar is light Wednesday, as market participants await the release on Friday of the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, the Personal Consumption Expenditures index. Investors are watching economic indicators closely for clues on how they could affect the Fed’s decision-making on interest rates. Fed Chair Jerome Powell last week signaled that rate cuts are coming, but noted that incoming data will drive the decisions on the pace and depth of the easing.

The yield on 10-year Treasurys, which is sensitive to expectations around interest rates, was little changed Wednesday at 3.84%. Gold futures were slightly lower at around $2,530, while bitcoin was around $60,000, after slumping below $59,000 overnight.