Dow ends nearly 200 points lower as stocks fall ahead of inflation reading

Stocks ended lower Tuesday, losing ground in afternoon trade as investors appeared reluctant to hold equities ahead of the release of an eagerly anticipated June consumer price index reading. The CPI is expected to show a large 1.1% jump in June when the report is released at 8:30 a.m. ET Wednesday. The increase in inflation over the past year, meanwhile, is forecast to climb to 8.8% from 8.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-0.62%
ended around 189 points lower, down 0.6%, near 30,985, according to preliminary figures. The S&P 500
SPX,
-0.92%
fell 0.9% to close near 3,819, while the Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
-0.95%
dropped 0.9% to close near 11,265.