US stocks edge lower as investors await slew of economic data

• US stocks edged lower on Tuesday as investors await a slew of economic data this week.
• Inflation data via PCE will be released on Thursday, while the August jobs report will be released on Friday.
• China enacted a number of economic stimulus measures in a bid to increase consumer spending.

US stocks were mostly lower on Tuesday as investors await a slew of economic data that will confirm whether or not inflation is still falling and if the job market remains on solid footing.

The most anticipated dataset this week is the August jobs report, which will be released Friday morning. Economists are expecting a net gain of 186,000 in August, which would represent a marked slowdown from the post-pandemic job gains seen throughout 2021 and 2022.

Meanwhile, PCE data is set to be released on Thursday and will either reinforce or conflict with recent trends that have shown inflation falling.

China released another round of economic stimulus measures in a bid to strengthen its consumer and spur more spending. The country lowered the mortgage rate for existing borrowers, an action the country has not taken since the Great Financial Crisis in 2008.

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

• S&P 500: 4,435.20, up 0.02%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average:34,556.15, down 0.01% (-3.83 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 13,694.82, down 0.08%

Here's what else is going on today:

• China's economy is expected to continue to weaken after economists slashed their 2023 GDP estimate for the country to 5.1%.
• Short-seller Jim Chanos called electric vehicle maker VinFast a "$200 billion meme stock" that would be lucky if they sold 40,000 cars this year.
• A fast-food worker used $200,000 of advanced credit to buy Tesla, GameStop and other stocks - even though he had just 9 cents in his bank account.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.29% to $80.33 a barrel. Brent, the international benchmark, jumped 0.28% to $84.66 a barrel.
• Gold fell 0.02% to $1,946.40 per ounce.
• The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond rose one basis points to 4.21%.
• Bitcoin fell 0.36% to $26,012.