Stocks are edging lower as the Street observes the development from the highly anticipated meeting between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on a fast-approaching debt ceiling deadline. The Street is also paying attention to the latest comments from New York Fed President Williams who said he is not expecting any cut on rates in 2023 and expects inflation to hit 3.25% this year.

Notably, the S&P 500 continues to struggle to break above 4,200 despite spending so much time below it and the VIX below 16.

Only two sectors are in green, with Energy and Industrials holding a slight gain.

Breadth is very weak this afternoon.

All eyes are on the inflation data tomorrow with headline inflation expected to increase 5% from a year ago, and on a “core” basis, it is expected to have increased to 0.4% over the prior month.