Stocks fell Wednesday as Wall Street awaited fresh inflation data coming later in the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 191.13 points, or 0.54%, to finish at 35,123.36. The S&P 500 shed 0.7% to 4,467.71. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 1.17% to 13,722.02.

Penn Entertainment jumped 9.1% a day after the casino company said it's launching an online sportsbook with ESPN, called ESPN Bet, this fall. Roblox tumbled close to 22% after missing Wall Street expectations for its second quarter.

Those moves precede a much-anticipated U.S. inflation report, with July's reading of the consumer price index slated for release Thursday.

Investors have kept an eye on the index in recent months for potential insights into how the Federal Reserve will move interest rates going forward. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the inflation gauge rose 3.3% in July.

"Markets are focused on whether or not inflation is falling fast enough to allow the Fed to stop hiking rates," said Bill Merz, head of capital markets research at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "It's been decelerating, but it's still too high. And the Fed is at a bit of a crossroads."

Wednesday's moves follow a losing day on Wall Street, after a Moody's downgrade of several regional banks dampened investor sentiment. Some market participants were concerned the signal could spell more trouble for markets ahead, but others said the pullback is expected given the extraordinary rally in equities this year.

The Nasdaq Composite has lost 4.4% since August began, while the S&P 500 and Dow have slid 2.6% and 1.2%, respectively. With Wednesday's retreat, the Nasdaq has moved into negative territory on the quarter. Still, all three indexes are notably higher than where each began 2023.

"The markets had run up a lot," said Phillip Colmar, managing partner at MRB Partners. "It's a bit of a wait-and-see, digestion phase."

Entertainment giant Disney and casino operator Wynn Resorts are slated to post quarterly results after the close. More than 90% of S&P 500 stocks have reported earnings as of Wednesday, and about four-fifths of those who have posted results have exceeded Wall Street's expectations, according to FactSet.

Stocks close lower

The three major indexes finished Wednesday's session down.

The Dow lost about 0.5%, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.7%. The Nasdaq Composite slid the most, ending 1.2% lower.

— Alex Harring

Downgrades create a buying opportunity in bank stocks, JPMorgan says

You can add JPMorgan analyst Steven Alexopoulos to the list of people who are dismissing recent credit downgrades.

Alexopoulos said in a note to clients that the Moody's report about regional banks from Monday evening has created a buying opportunity for the group.

"In our view the rationales underlying the ratings actions (as well as changes to outlooks) are already well understood by markets," the note said.

Read more about Alexopoulos analysis and JPMorgan's favorite regional bank picks on CNBC Pro.

— Jesse Pound

Citi says buy the dip in Nvidia

The selloff in shares of Nvidia is a prime buying opportunity for investors, according to Citi.

The stock dropped more than 3% on Wednesday following comments from Super Micro Computer on its earnings call, which highlighted some supply chain bottlenecks related to Nvidia and other competitors.

While constraints to exists with regard to advanced packaging and high-bandwidth memory, analyst Atif Malik said the "comments are not fully reflective of Nvidia's supply situation as Nvidia has made pre-payments to line up majority of the HBM industry capacity and is prioritizing supply to hyperscalers and other major OEMs."

Shares of Super Micro Computer tanked nearly 23%.

— Samantha Subin

Stocks make up ground as final hour kicks off

With one hour left in the trading session, stocks have made up some ground after taking a leg down earlier in the day.

The Dow was around flat after tumbling more than 250 points earlier in the session. The S&P 500 was down just 0.1%, well off its session low of 0.9%. The Nasdaq Composite traded 0.5% lower, but was down about 1.4% earlier in the day.

The moves come as investors ready for the consumer price index reading due Thursday morning.

Stocks paring losses "after a strong auction signaled that Wall Street is very confident that inflation will continue to fall," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda.

— Alex Harring

Crude oil hits 9-month high, natgas a 5-month peak — and carry energy stocks up with them

September West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract touched $84.11 a barrel early Wednesday, the highest since mid-November, 2022, while October Brent, the global benchmark, rose to $87.19, or the highest since mid-April.

Meanwhile, September natural gas contracts reached $2.875 per thousand cubic feet, the highest since early March. U.S. natgas production and consumption will hit all-time highs in 2023, the Energy Information Administration said Tuesday, according to a Reuters report.

In reaction, the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF jumped more than 2% early Wednesday, led in part by EQT, Coterra, SLB and Diamondback.

Strategas Research technical analyst Chris Verrone told clients in a report early Wednesday that SLB recently made a "new cycle high," and APA Corp., formerly Apache, is on "the breakoput list."

"The persistent offer that dominated the Oil market for much of the last year has evolved into a stealthy bid over recent weeks, also reflected with the renewed strength from Energy shares," Veronne wrote. "Since the July 12th 3.00% CPI print, Energy has carried the flag of leadership, outperforming the next best sector (Financials) by over 300bps."

— Scott Schnipper, Gina Francolla, Michael Bloom

Energy stocks outperform

Energy stocks are outperforming in the S&P 500.

While the broad index is down just 0.1%, the energy sector gained 1.7%.

Coterra and APA led the sector higher with gains of more than 3%. Every energy stock in the index was up in Wednesday's session.

Just five of the 11 S&P 500 sectors were lower. Information technology was the worst performer with a 0.8% drop.

— Alex Harring

Upstart plunges on weak guidance

Upstart shares cratered nearly 35% after issuing revenue guidance for Tk that disappointed Wall Street's expectations.

The software company said it expects third-quarter revenues of $140 million, and EBITDA totaling $5 million. That's behind the $155.3 million in revenue and $9.6 million in EBITDA anticipated by analyst polled by FactSet.

Despite the move in shares, Upstart topped expectations for the second quarter, posting revenues of roughly $136 million and surprise earnings of 6 cents per share. That came in ahead of 7-cent loss per share on revenues of $135 million expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.

— Samantha Subin

DraftKings slides as ESPN teams up with Penn Entertainment

Shares of DraftKings fell about 10% on Wednesday after ESPN and Penn Entertainment announced a 10-year deal that will see Penn's sports gambling arm rebranded as ESPN Bet.

The partnership with the leading sports media brand could help Penn gain market share against DraftKings and other larger online sportsbooks.

ESPN-parent Disney also owns a small equity stake in DraftKings. It is unclear if the company will now divest those shares.

— Jesse Pound

Stocks making the biggest midday moves

These are some of the stocks making the biggest midday moves:

• Roblox — Shares tanked 20% after the online gaming platform fell short of second-quarter estimates. 
• Penn Entertainment, DraftKings — Shares of sports betting company Penn Entertainment surged 7% a day after the firm said it is partnering with Disney-owned ESPN to rebrand and relaunch its sportsbook as ESPN Bet in a 10-year deal. 
• Rivian — Shares of the electric vehicle maker slipped more than 8% a day after it reported a smaller-than-expected loss. 

See the full list here.

— Alex Harring, Samantha Subin

Cash Cows ETF reaches all-time intraday high

The Cash Cows ETF (COWZ) hit a new intraday all-time high Tuesday morning, marking its highest levels back to inception in December 2016.

The ETF, which was up 0.7%, trades in the top 100 companies in the Russell 1000 by free cash flow yield.

Its gains were led in large part today by natural gas and energy companies, with Coterra, APA and Cheniere all up more than 3% for the day.

Natural gas also reached its highest level since March. WTI prices also rose to their highest level of the year.

— Hakyung Kim, Gina Francolla

A hot CPI reading could disappoint markets, CIO says

Markets are expecting the consumer price index reading to come in softer than expected, according to Bob Doll, chief investment officer or Crossmark Global Investments.

"That's the expectation," he said of a cool reading on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." "The disappointment would be if it goes the other direction."

— Alex Harring

Salesforce, financial stocks drag on Dow

Salesforce and a group of financial stocks were among the worst performing members of the Dow.

The software stock was the worst performer, down around 3%. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and American Express were also among the biggest laggards, with all more than 1% lower.

More than two-thirds of the 30 members traded down. Dow, Inc. was the best performing stock in the average, up nearly 1%.

The index as a whole shed around 0.6%.

— Alex Harring

UBS lowers forecast on UPS as margin pressure and lower shipping volumes pressure stock

UBS is worried that UPS stock will suffer from lower margins and declining shipping volume after a new labor contract.

The firm downgraded UPS stock on Wednesday following disappointing quarterly results.

"The combination of a greater than expected decline in Domestic Package volumes (-12% in June and -11% in July) and clear visibility to significant year 1 Teamster contract cost pressures (we estimate 6% - 8%) create a backdrop of pressure on UPS's Domestic Package margin which is likely to extend through 2Q24," analyst Thomas Wadewitz said.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Brian Evans

Earnings season shaping up to be better than expected

More than nine out of every 10 S&P 500 companies have released their quarterly financials in this corporate earnings season as of Wednesday morning. And many have been surprisingly strong.

About four-fifths on companies in the broad index that have already reported have beat average expectations of Wall Street analysts, according to data from FactSet.

While most of this earnings season is in the rearview, some big-name companies have yet to report. One example: Disney is expected after the bell.

— Alex Harring

Celsius pops on earnings beat

Shares of Celsius Holdings surged more than 15% to trade near an all-time higher after reporting second-quarter results that topped Wall Street's expectations on the top and bottom lines.

The energy drink company reported earnings of 52 cents per share on revenues of $326 million. That came in ahead of the EPS of 28 cents and $276 million in revenues expected by analysts, per Refinitiv.

Celsius did not provide any offer any forward guidance.

— Samantha Subin

Jefferies upgrades Eli Lilly, cites success of weight-loss study

Jefferies is bullish on Eli Lilly thanks to the success of a recent weight-loss study that could bode well for the industry.

The firm upgraded Eli Lilly stock on Tuesday, and said the company's own weight-loss drug Mounjaro could benefit from a recent study concerning Novo Nordisk's drug Wegovy.

"We think NVO opens the door to broader payer adoption & potential CMS coverage for theGLP-1 class," analyst Akash Tewari said.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Brian Evans

Stocks open little changed

The three major indexes were near flat at open.

The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were all within 0.1% of their flatlines shortly after 9:30 a.m. ET.

— Alex Harring

Roblox slides after second-quarter bookings miss estimates

Shares of Roblox fell sharply in pre-market trading after the company's second-quarter bookings came in below expectations. Bookings is the term video game companies use for revenue.

The company reported a loss of 46 cents per share on $781 million of bookings. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting a loss of 45 cents per share on $785 million of bookings. Roblox's net loss widened to $282.8 million from $176.4 million a year ago.

The stock was down 11% shortly before the opening bell.

—Jesse Pound

Tuesday's sell-off erases Nasdaq Composite's Monday gains

The Nasdaq Composite's 0.8% drop on Tuesday was enough to pull it into negative territory for the week.

The slide pulled the index below flat on the week, more than erasing the 0.6% gain seen Monday.

While the Dow and S&P 500 also ended Tuesday lower, the losses weren't large enough to outweigh Monday's advances. The Dow and S&P 500 were still up 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively, on the week.

— Alex Harring

Stocks making the biggest premarket moves

These are some of the companies making headlines before the bell on Wednesday:

• WeWork — The stock plunged 25.7% after WeWork said in an SEC filing that there's doubt about the company's ability to keep operating amid by weaker-than-expected membership rates. WeWork warned of measures such as a potential bankruptcy or restructuring or refinancing its debt. Its share price, which was below $1 since early this year, dropped to $0.05 in premarket trading.
• Carvana — Online used-car retailer Carvana added 7.4% before the bell. Carvana expects adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter to be above $75 million, which is higher than its prior guidance and analysts' expectations of $46.4 million, according to StreetAccount. The company, which announced a debt restructuring agreement in July, has seen its stock price soar more than 850% so far this year buoyed by short sellers rushing to cover their bets.
• Lyft — Shares lost almost 6% premarket after the ride-hailing company announced its second-quarter earnings. Lyft posted revenue of $1.02 billion, in line analyst estimates, according to Refinitiv. Meanwhile, adjusted per share earnings came in at 16 cents, beating estimates of a loss of 1 cent per share.

Read here to see the full list.

— Pia Singh

What analysts are saying after Rivian's quarterly results

Analysts on Wall Street think electric vehicle maker Rivian still has a prolonged path toward profitability.

The company reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss and raised its forecast for full-year vehicle deliveries on Tuesday.

"RIVN is working through bottlenecks with operating leverage and lower write-downs," Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas said. "Investors will focus on bolstering the $10bn cash pile and exploring the scope for more strategic tie-ups."

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Brian Evans

Wendy's slides 2% after reporting underwhelming revenue

Wendy's slipped more than 2.2% in premarket trading after the fast-food chain reported worse-than-expected revenue in the second quarter.

The company saw $561.6 million in the quarter, while analysts polled by FactSet anticipated $566.2 million. But the company beat forecasts on earnings per share by 1 cent with 28 cents earned, excluding items.

— Alex Harring

Markets are in 'purgatory,' Vital Knowledge says

Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge said the stock market is "stuck in a purgatory zone, with valuation constraints blocking a sustained close above 4600 in the near-term while favorable macro news flow (goldilocks data, the end of near end of rate hikes, decent earnings) prevents a sharp break through ~4400."

He added that declines below 4,450 "should be purchased, while rallies above 4550 are to be faded, but the sideways pattern (that's been in place for a few weeks) will likely persist for a bit."

— Fred Imbert, Michael Bloom

China consumer prices in July fall for first time in over 2 years

China's consumer price index fell for the first time in over two years, posting a 0.3% year-on-year drop in July, but rose 0.2% month-on-month.

Economists polled by Reuters expected July CPI to drop 0.4% compared to a year ago.

Producer price index slumped 4.4% year-on-year, more than the Reuters poll of 4.1%. That's compared to a 5.4% decline in June.

The offshore yuan strengthened slightly against the greenback after the announcement, trading at 7.2257.

— Lim Hui Jie, Evelyn Cheng

Nikon shares tumble 17% as net profit drops by almost 80% year-on-year

Shares of Japanese optics and imaging manufacturer Nikon tumbled as much as 17% on Wednesday, and was the biggest loser on the Nikkei 225.

The company posted a 78.3% year-on-year plunge in net profit for its first quarter, at 2.58 billion yen ($18 million) in the three months ended June.

Operating profit plunged 78.6% to 3.29 billion yen, while first quarter revenue increased to 158.15 billion yen, an 8.6% increase year-on-year.

— Lim Hui Jie

South Korea unemployment rises for second straight month to 2.7%

The unemployment rate in South Korea climbed to 2.7% in July, up from 2.6% the previous month, but down 0.2 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

Government data showed the number of unemployed persons stood at 807,000 thousand people in July, a 3.5% drop year-on-year.

South Korea's employment to population ratio was at 63.2% in July, up 0.3% percentage points year-on-year.

— Lim Hui Jie

Behind the decline in Lyft shares could be lackluster fourth-quarter guidance

Lyft shares dropped about 7% in extended trading Tuesday after the release of the ride-hailing company's latest quarterly results.

The stock initially jumped 14% after Lyft posted second-quarter earnings results that beat analysts' estimates, citing strong ride sharing demand. It posted adjusted per-share earnings of 16 cents, which far exceeded the per-share loss of 1 cent anticipated by analysts polled by Refinitiv. Meanwhile, Lyft's second-quarter revenue of $1.02 billion came in line with estimates.

However, Lyft shares turned lower after the company's fourth-quarter outlook seemed weaker than anticipated, according to a rough calculation from CNBC's Robert Hum. Fourth-quarter revenue growth expectations showed low- to mid-single digit increases. Meanwhile, the rough fourth-quarter earnings margin came in line to slightly lower.

What's more, while the company cited strong demand for rides, the revenue per active rider declined 5% as Lyft used price cuts to drive demand.

— Sarah Min, Robert Hum

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours

Check out the companies making headlines after hours.

• Rivian Automotive — Rivian Automotive dipped about 2.5% in extended trading. The decline comes even after the electric automaker beat second-quarter expectations on the top and bottom lines. Rivian reported an adjusted loss of $1.08 per share on revenue of $1.12 billion. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected a loss per share of $1.41 on revenue of $1.0 billion.
• Penn Entertainment — Penn Entertainment surged 22% after the entertainment and casino company said it's launching an online sportsbook with ESPN, called ESPN Bet, this fall.
• Lyft — Lyft shares were 6% lower in extended trading after initially popping more than 12% following the release of the ride-hailing company's second-quarter results. Lyft posted revenue of $1.02 billion, in line with the estimate from analysts polled by Refinitiv. Meanwhile, adjusted per share earnings came in at 16 cents, beating the expectation of a loss of 1 cent per share.

Read the full list here.

— Sarah Min

Stock futures open flat

U.S. stock futures were little changed Tuesday night.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell by 23 points, or 0.06%. S&P 500 futures dipped 0.03%, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.01%.

— Sarah Min