U.S. equities reached record highs midweek but lost momentum by Friday due to inflation concerns affecting the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions. The Core Personal Consumption Expenditures price index rose 2.9% year-over-year in July, the highest reading in five months, complicating Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s hints of rate cuts.

Additionally, the U.S. goods trade deficit surged to $103.6 billion in July, well above expectations, signaling economic challenges compounded by President Trump’s tariff policies. Nvidia Corp. posted strong quarterly results but fell short of expectations, leading to a stock decline for the third consecutive week.

Meanwhile, MongoDB Inc. and Snowflake Inc. saw significant gains following strong quarterly results, while cyclical sectors like Michigan-based automakers experienced positive growth in August. Looking ahead, investors are cautious about September, historically the worst-performing month for markets, with the July jobs report on Sept. 5 expected to influence interest rate expectations.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Wall Street Is At All-Time Highs, But Inflation Sends Warnings: This Week In Markets