NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks were modestly lower early Wednesday ahead of Disney results and inflation data that will be influential in upcoming Federal Reserve decisions.

Analysts have pointed to low trading volumes this week, with many Wall Street desks empty in a lull period before September.

But individual stocks are still fluctuating on new corporate earnings reports and markets will be closely watching Thursday’s consumer price index data.

Wall St falls as Moody’s bank downgrades spark broad sell-off

About 39 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was unchanged at 35,319.14.

The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent to 4,494.21, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.4 percent to 13,822.61.

Disney, which releases quarterly results later Wednesday, rose 0.5 percent as its ESPN sports network announced a licensing deal with Penn Entertainment to create a branded sportsbook as both companies try to monetize sports-betting.

Penn jumped 14.5 percent.

But Lyft slid 7.3 percent as the ride-hailing company reported a loss of $114.3 million. Chief Executive Erin Brewer said the company has “strong ride momentum going into Q3 and the back half of the year.”