S&P 500 falls for 4th straight day as investors brace for inflation update

• US stocks fell Tuesday as investors appeared cautious before the release of the US government's July inflation report.
• Tech stocks led the market lower, leaving the Nasdaq Composite with its third straight loss.

US stocks declined Tuesday, leaving the S&P 500 to extend its losing streak before investors parse inflation data that is key to the Federal Reserve's outlook for raising interest rates.

The S&P 500 logged a fourth consecutive loss, led by consumer discretionary and information technology shares. The Nasdaq Composite recorded a third straight decline, with chip stocks back in focus. Micron warned its quarterly revenue projections may fall short of Wall Street's targets, citing in part supply chain problems. Nvidia on Monday said gaming-sector weakness will hurt second-quarter revenue.

Also in focus was Novavax, plunging after it halved its quarterly sales outlook as demand for its COVID vaccine slows.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 pm market close on Tuesday:

• S&P 500: 4,122.47, down 0.42%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 32,774.41, down 0.18% (58.13 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 12,493.93, down 1.19%

The US consumer price index is due for release Wednesday at 8:30 am ET.

"The market is seemingly in a holding pattern ahead of CPI data tomorrow. Expectations are for a decline in the year-over-year reading, and that will come with all sorts of questions around the 'peak inflation' narrative," Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird, told Insider in emailed comments.

The "expectation-crushing July jobs report out last week will keep the Fed hawkish in the near-term given the implications for stickier wage inflation," he added. "We remain skeptical that the Fed will be pivoting to rate cuts by the middle of next year given the lingering labor market strength."

The market is driving toward stagflation and investors should seek safety in low-volatility stocks and fixed income, BlackRock says.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has raised its stake in Occidental Petroleum to more than 20%. Meanwhile, Norway has drawn up plans to cut energy supplies to Europe, pushing power prices to record highs.

Oil prices were mixed. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 1 cent to $91.69 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 0.3% to $96.56.

Gold picked up 0.3% at $1,811.30 per ounce. The 10-year Treasury yield rose 3 basis points to 2.79%.

Bitcoin fell 4.2% to $23,068.14.