US stocks dip after consumer inflation report shows continued slowing

• US stocks dipped Tuesday after the consumer price index came in line with expectations.
• CPI rose 3.1% year over year in November, down from October's 3.2% pace.

US stocks dipped Tuesday as investors considered how the latest inflation data might impact the direction of monetary policy.

November's consumer price index rose 3.1% year over year, down from the prior month's 3.2% pace and in line with expectations. On a monthly basis, the core CPI rose 0.3%, a slight pick-up from October's 0.2% rise.

The data comes as the Federal Reserve begins its two-day meeting, with a rate decision due on Wednesday afternoon.

"After all the hopes and chatter around near-term rate cuts, today's CPI report is a little bit of a mood dampener. Monthly core inflation did not slow in November, picked up slightly on the headline measure, and even sped up on the supercore measure," said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management. "Simply put, this isn't enough inflation deceleration to reassert or justify the market's policy easing expectations, particularly at a time when the labor market is still so solid."

Here's where US indexes stood at the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Tuesday:

• S&P 500: 4,608.90, down 0.29%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 36,381.55, down 0.06% (23.38 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 14,402.72, down 0.21%

Here's what else is going on today:

• Geopolitical "bad actors" are now the leading concern for markets, a new survey shows.
• Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway sold another 46 million shares of HP in the past two months.
• Retail investors just need "small pieces" of exposure to bitcoin, Anthony Scaramucci said.
• Guyana has history's fastest growing offshore oil development, an energy expert said.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 1.04% to $70.56 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, slumped 2.2% to $74.31 a barrel.
• Gold inched 0.2% up to $1,988.66 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield fell 1.2 basis point to 4.227%.
• Bitcoin declined by 6.84% to $40,795.