12:05 PM EST, 11/27/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were all down in late-morning trading Wednesday, as investors digested the latest batch of inflation data ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, rose by 0.2% in October, the same as the previous month, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said Wednesday. The core PCE price index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose by 0.3%, also in line with the previous month.

In company news, Dell Technologies ( DELL ) reported fiscal Q3 non-GAAP earnings late Tuesday of $2.15 per diluted share, up from $1.88 a year earlier and above the consensus estimate from analysts surveyed by FactSet of $2.07, excluding some items. Revenue for the quarter was $24.4 billion, up from $22.3 billion in the year-ago period but below the FactSet consensus of $24.7 billion. On the company's earnings call, Dell Chief Financial Officer Yvonne McGill said she expects fiscal Q4 non-GAAP EPS of $2.50, plus or minus $0.10, on revenue of between $24 billion and $25 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet expect non-GAAP EPS of $2.53 on revenue of $24.85 billion. Dell shares were down 12.9% near noon.

HP (HPQ) reported fiscal Q4 non-GAAP diluted earnings late Tuesday of $0.93, up from $0.90 a year earlier and in line with the FactSet consensus estimate. Fiscal Q4 revenue was $14.06 billion, up from $13.82 billion a year earlier and above the FactSet consensus of $13.99 billion. The company said it expects fiscal Q1 non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.70 to $0.76, below the FactSet consensus estimate of $0.85. For fiscal 2025, HP expects non-GAAP diluted EPS of $3.45 to $3.75, compared to the FactSet consensus estimate of $3.61. Shares of HP were down 13%.

BlackRock ( BLK ) , State Street (STT) and Vanguard were sued in federal court by Texas and nearly a dozen other states for allegedly using their investments in coal mining and utility companies to manipulate electricity prices in violation of the antitrust law. BlackRock ( BLK ) shares were down 0.3%, while those of State Street were up 0.2%.

Brookfield Asset Management ( BAM ) dropped its $6.8 billion offer to acquire Grifols (GRFS), Bloomberg reported Wednesday. The money manager said it decided to end its pursuit of the Spanish drugmaker after the Grifols board rejected its indicative offer. Brookfield shares were down 1%, while those of Grifols were down 7.6%.

The trial of Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google ( GOOG ) in which the US Department of Justice seeks to end the tech giant's online search dominance will proceed without delay when the DOJ switches to President-elect Donald Trump's administration, Reuters reported late Tuesday, citing Judge Amit Mehta, who is overseeing the case. The trial is set for April, and Judge Mehta will not move it even if Trump-appointed DOJ officials plan to amend the proposals, the report added, citing Mehta. Alphabet shares were down 0.2%.

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