NEW YORK — U.S. stocks closed lower across the board as investors digested a July personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index that came in above expectations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 113.52 points, or 0.21%, to 53,463.88 on the 26th. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 1.58 points, or 0.02%, to 7,675.70, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 21.10 points, or 0.08%, to 26,130.20. The higher-than-forecast PCE reading drove market sentiment. The U.S. Commerce Department said the July PCE price index rose 3.7% from a year earlier and 0.2% from June. Both figures exceeded economists' estimates compiled by Dow Jones by 0.1 percentage point. The core PCE price index, which strips out volatile energy and food prices, rose 3.3% year-on-year and 0.2% from the previous month, matching expectations. The PCE price index is the inflation gauge the Federal Reserve weighs most heavily in setting its benchmark interest rate. Personal income and disposable income for July, released the same day, rose 0.4% and 0.5% from June, respectively. The personal savings rate came in at 3.0%. The preliminary estimate for second-quarter U.S. gross domestic product growth held at 1.5%, unchanged from the advance reading and in line with market forecasts. Growth slowed from 2.1% in the first quarter. Markets showed little movement as investors awaited Nvidia's fiscal 2027 second-quarter results, covering May through July and due after the close, and the annual economic policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, running from the 27th to the 29th. Market participants are watching whether Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will lay out a path to easing inflation at the Jackson Hole meeting on the 28th, the Chair's first appearance at the event. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note edged up to 4.65%, and Nvidia fell 1.59% in regular trading. Oil prices declined for a third straight session amid expectations of progress in negotiations between Iran and Oman over the Strait of Hormuz. Reports that the two countries had agreed on a framework for opening a temporary shipping lane and clearing mines lifted sentiment. On the ICE Futures exchange in London, Brent crude for October delivery settled at $87.84 a barrel, down 74 cents, or 0.84%. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery closed at $82.23 a barrel, down 13 cents, or 0.16%. Oil pared much of its intraday loss, however, after a smaller-than-expected build in U.S. crude inventories. U.S. crude stockpiles rose 95,000 barrels to 428.9 million barrels in the week ended the 21st, according to the Energy Information Administration, far below the 597,000-barrel increase economists had expected.
