Stock market today: Live updates

Stocks were little changed Wednesday as traders absorbed a hotter-than-expected August core inflation print.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat. The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2%.

August consumer price index rose 0.6% for the month, and was up 3.7% from a year ago. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones were looking for respective increases of 0.6% and 3.6%.

However, core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy, increased 0.3% and 4.3% respectively, against estimates for 0.2% and 4.3%. Federal Reserve officials focus more on the core number as it provides a better indication of where inflation is heading over the long term.

“This report interrupts the run of good news. Makes it more difficult to talk a happy game about inflation. It doesn’t matter for the upcoming FOMC meetings results. They’re not going to act. They have not signaled action. Market participants do not expect action. And that’s because they’ve shifted down the pace of tightening,” said Vincent Reinhart, chief economist at Dreyfus and Mellon. “If they act, it will be in November.”

Wall Street has mostly priced in a pause in rate hikes at the Fed’s next meeting. Fed funds futures pricing data as of Wednesday morning indicate a 93% probability of rates remaining the same, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

— CNBC’s Jeff Cox contributed to this report.

Correction: An earlier version misstated the day Adobe reports earnings.