Dow slips as Wall Street weighs PCE inflation data

US stocks have slipped as a turbulent week continues, with investors reacting to the latest release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, a key consumer inflation gauge.

Summary

• Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 65 points, and S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.4% and 0.5% respectively.
• July’s core PCE inflation index rose to 2.9%, up from 2.6%.
• Bitcoin and Ethereum also slipped as risk assets continued to shed gains from recent highs.

Dow Jones Industrial Average opened 65 points lower to continue the weakness seen this week, while the S&P 500 shed about 0.4%. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy index, the Nasdaq Composite, dropped 0.6%. 

The outlook on Wall Street follows a blockbuster few months that saw stocks rally to record highs amid a resilient economy. Despite President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the turmoil that initially hit markets, risk assets, including crypto, showed notable upside to rally to fresh highs. 

However, a surge in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium quickly faded as major U.S. indices shed gains from their recent peaks. On Friday, investors reacted to an update on the personal consumption expenditure index, with the July reading coming in hot.

Stocks slip amid core PCE data

The Commerce Department’s data, now available on the blockchain, showed the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge held steady in July.

However, the core PCE, which ignores volatile food and energy sectors, suggests prices rose the highest since February. PCE headline reading shows prices rose 2.6% in July, largely in line with consensus forecasts. Nonetheless,  core PCE came in at 2.9%, up from 2.8% in June and the hottest in five months.

The downturn in stocks also showed in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), which hovered around $110k and $4,400, respectively. 

Despite the inflation data, overall sentiment is upbeat as Wall Street bets on a Fed rate cut in September. Fed chair Jerome Powell signalled this outlook in his speech at Jackson Hole, and traders bet the central bank will act. 

Dow Jones is eyeing a 2.2% surge in August, while the S&P 500 is on track for a 2% uptick and a monthly close above 6,400. The Nasdaq Composite is looking at a 2.5% rise for the month. Significantly, analysts have lifted targets for the S&P 500 in 2025 and 2026.