Stocks close lower as Fed frets stagflation. Nvidia earnings on deck.

U.S. stocks closed lower at the end of the trading day as investors awaited earnings from artificial intelligence chip heavyweight Nvidia after the bell.

The broad S&P 500 index lost 0.6% to close at 5,888.55, down 32.99 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 244.95 points to settle at 42,098.7, down 0.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 98.23 points, or 0.5%, ending the day at 19,100.94

Nvidia is the last of the so-called Magnificent Seven companies to report earnings. The group includes the largest and most influential tech companies: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Tesla.

Nvidia warned last month that results in the first three months of the year will be hit by a $5.5 billion charge due to a new U.S. export ban on some chips.

Economy

Federal Reserve policymakers acknowledged “difficult tradeoffs” in coming months when they met May 6-7, according to minutes from the session revealed Wednesday. The central bank recognized that Washington policies were likely to send both inflation and unemployment higher, and staff projections pointed to increased recession risk.

Bond yields have backed away from the highs they hit earlier in the month, which spooked markets, but were slightly higher Wednesday. The benchmark 10-year note gained 4 basis points to close near 4.477%. Bond yields rise as prices fall.

Corporate news

• Identity management software company Okta topped analysts’ estimates with its results from the first three months of its fiscal year. It maintained its full-year guidance but noted its customers have turned more cautious. Shares plunged more than 16%.
• Abercrombie & Fitch shares skyrocketed nearly 15% as the company beat earnings expectations.
• Shares of Dick’s Sporting Goods were slightly higher in the late morning after the retailer beat estimates and made no changes to its forecast for the year ahead. Shares added 1.6% on Wednesday.
• Macy’s reported a smaller decline in sales than expected for the spring quarter, but trimmed its full-year earnings guidance as tariffs take effect and consumers remain relatively cautious. The stock closed 0.5% lower.
• Motorola Solutions said it agreed to buy Silvus Technologies for $4.4 billion.
• Vail Resorts said Rob Katz has returned as chief executive of the company. The stock jumped 9%.

GameStop buys bitcoin

GameStop said in a filing that it had purchased 4,710 bitcoins, worth about $513 million. Bitcoin was trading about 2.5% lower, near $107,073, as the stock market closed in the afternoon. GameStop stock closed 11% lower.

Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mjlee@usatoday.com and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday.