Dow posts back-to-back drop, S&P 500 climbs after inflation gauge ticks higher

The Dow posted a back-to-back loss on Wednesday after a gauge of consumer inflation for August rose on the back of higher energy costs, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite ended with modest gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-0.20%
shed about 70 points, or 0.2%, ending near 34,565, according to preliminary FactSet data. That marked its second day in a row of declines. The S&P 500 index
SPX,
+0.12%
added 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
+0.29%
finished at a 0.3% gain. Both the Dow and S&P 500 struggled for direction earlier Wednesday, with both indexes flipping between small gains and loss as investors considered whether the Federal Reserve will be promoted to increase its policy rate any further this year to tamp down inflation further. Its benchmark rate was increased to a 22-year high in July. The consumer price-index for August showed the yearly rate of inflation climbed to 3.7% from 3.2% in July, and up from a 27-month low of 3% in June.