WALL STREET

for the S&P 500 since the end of October. Critics say stock prices look expensive on several measures, and either profits need to rise or interest rates need to fall to make them look more reasonable.

Strategists at Bank of America are looking for Wednesday’s inflation update to show a cooldown after ignoring food and energy prices, which can zigzag sharply. Such a result would likely increase traders’ expectations for a cut to rates in June, which the market currently sees as slightly better than a coin

flip’s probability.

While a jump in oil prices this year has raised worries about a feedthrough into inflation, oil would likely need to rise “well above levels seen even in the peak Russia-ukraine commodity price spike for a meaningful impact on core inflation,” the Bank of America strategists said in a Bofa Global Research report.

A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude fell $1.20 to settle at $85.23, trimming its gain for the year so far below 20%. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 96 cents to $89.42 per barrel.

On Wall Street, Apple helped nudge the S&P 500

higher by rising 0.7%. It

trimmed it loss for the year to a shade below 12%.

Norfolk Southern rose 1.3% even though the railroad reported preliminary earnings results for the first quarter that were shy of analysts’ expectations.

It agreed to pay $600 million in a class-action lawsuit settlement related to a fiery train derailment last year in eastern Ohio. The company said the agreement, if approved by the court, will resolve all class action claims within a 20mile radius from the derailment and personal injury claims within a 10-mile radius for those choosing to participate.

Some of Wall Street’s

largest losses came from the same stocks that have been the biggest winners in the market’s frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology.

Nvidia sank 2%, and because it’s one of the biggest stocks in the market, it was the single heaviest force weighing on the S&P 500. Super Micro Computer fell 2.6%, though its stock has still more than tripled so far this year.

Tilray Brands tumbled 20.7% after the cannabis company reported weaker revenue growth for its latest quarter than analysts expected.

In the bond market, the

yield on the 10-year Treasury

eased to 4.35% from 4.42% late Monday.

In Europe, stock indexes sank ahead of a decision by the European Central Bank on Thursday about interest rates. Many investors expect it to hold rates steady.

Stock indexes were mixed in Asia, with Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 jumping 1.1% but South Korea’s Kospi falling 0.5%.