Stock market today: Indexes slip as investors brace for November inflation report

• Stocks fell for a second day this week as investors brace for Wednesday's CPI report.
• An inflation surprise could sway the Fed's interest rate decision next week.
• Google rose as much as 6% after unveiling a quantum computing breakthrough.

The year-end rally wavered for a second day this week, with major US indexes slipping through Tuesday's session.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost over 150 points, and the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite also dropped. A Chinese probe into Nvidia pulled equities lower in Monday's session.

On Tuesday, investors held off on major market bets, with attention focused on the coming consumer price index report for November. The print will be published Wednesday morning, and could sway the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision next week.

Economists expected prices to have risen 2.7% on an annual basis, slightly higher than October's 2.6% increase.

A hotter reading than expected could shake markets, Bank of America said this week, given that the options traders are predicting the smallest CPI-related move in three years.

This report will help dictate the Fed's next policy decision at its meeting on December 17-18. Markets are eyeing an 86% chance the central bank will lower rates by a quarter-point, though any inflation surprise could upend the market's predictions.

Among individual stocks, Alphabet was a winner on Tuesday. The Google-parent jumped as much as 6% after revealing a quantum computing breakthrough.

Oracle shed about nearly 7% after a disappointing second-quarter earnings report. Meanwhile, shares of UnitedHealth Group have slumped 10% since last week's fatal shooting of CEO Brian Thompson.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. bell on Tuesday:

• S&P 500: 6,034.91, down 0.30%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 44,247.83, down 0.35% (-154.10 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 19,687.24, down 0.25%

Here's what else happened today:

• Bitcoin's pullback after rising above $100,000 creates 13% correction risk, chart master says.
• World governments need to slash spending or risk being 'too late' when markets panic, BIS says.
• The market's blistering postelection rally has some ringing alarms for 2025.
• A 'silver tsunami' of boomer home sales won't fix housing affordability, Zillow says.
• Watch Japan as a key source of market risk next year, a research firm says.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil stayed essentially flat at $68.36 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell by o.22% to $71.99 a barrel.
• Gold rose 1.2% to $2,718 an ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield increased two basis points to 4.222%.
• Bitcoin slid 0.3% to $96,343.14.