US stocks are slipping as Wall Street prepares for a report on inflation that could show how realistic its hopes for easier interest rates are. The S&P 500 was 0.2 per cent lower in afternoon trading, coming off just its third losing week in the last 19. But it’s still near its all-time high set last week, buoyed by expectations that cuts to interest rates are coming this year and by signals that the economy remains remarkably resilient.The Dow Jones was down 0.
1 per cent and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2 per cent lower. The Australian sharemarket is set to dip, with futures at 6.58am AEDT pointing to a gain of 7 points, or 0.1 per cent, at the open. The ASXTuesday’s report on prices at the consumer level could show inflation remained at 3.1 per cent in February, if economists’ forecasts are correct. A month ago, a hotter-than-expected report on inflation at the consumer level sent financial markets spinning because it scrambled bets for when the Federal Reserve will start cutting rate