Wall Street edged higher as Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh kept inflation and the central bank's 2% target firmly in focus, prompting traders to raise their bets on a September rate hike. The renewed emphasis on price stability underscores the Fed's long-running balancing act between taming inflation, which ran hotter than target through the post-pandemic period, and avoiding unnecessary drag on economic growth.

Chip stocks retreated following Nvidia's AI-fueled rally, a pullback that follows a stretch in which artificial-intelligence-related shares have driven much of the market's gains. PayPal tumbled and Gap surged on company-specific developments, highlighting how individual earnings and corporate news continue to drive sharp single-stock moves even on a day dominated by macro attention on the Fed.

For markets, the practical question ahead is how forthcoming economic data — particularly inflation and labor reports — shapes the rate outlook traders are pricing in.

Source: Economic Times Markets