Dow ekes out gain, S&P 500 and Nasdaq book slight declines as investors await U.S. inflation update

U.S. stocks closed mostly lower Monday, but only slightly changed from Friday's finish as investors awaited a highly anticipated update on U.S. inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added about 28 points, or 0.1%, closing near 32,831, after briefly topping the 33,000 mark earlier Monday. The S&P 500 index shed 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index also fell 0.1%. In addition to August hitting the "dog days" of summer when many on Wall Street and beyond take time off for vacations, investors appeared hesitant to make big moves in equities ahead of the consumer-price index update for July, due Wednesday, after its last monthly update pegged the cost of living at a 9.1% annual rate, a 41-year high. Wednesday's CPI reading comes on the heels of Friday's blockbuster jobs report for July, which underscored strong wage gains for workers in the past year, which may complicate the Federal Reserve's efforts to cool inflation, particularly if household demand for goods and services stays robust and keeps pressure on prices, despite higher interest rates.

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