U.S. stock futures were little changed Tuesday night ahead of September’s consumer inflation report. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 26 points, or 0.05%. S&P 500 futures dipped 0.02%. Nasdaq-100 futures dipped 0.01%.

Investors are awaiting September’s consumer price index reading Wednesday morning. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect inflation to have risen 3.6% year over year, up from 3.4% in the prior reading. The inflation figures arrive while oil prices remain elevated and consumers pay more for gasoline. AAA puts average gasoline prices at $4.34 per gallon, compared with $3.08 per gallon a year earlier.

Bank of America shares dipped more than 2% in extended trading after the bank received more than $1.2 billion in federal penalties. Regulators said Bank of America failed to report more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions.

The S&P 500 dipped 0.02%, completing a second consecutive losing session. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.15%, also completing a second consecutive losing session. The Dow Industrials fell 0.35%. Declines in chip stocks weighed on the major averages. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) fell for a sixth consecutive session amid growing fears of an AI spending bubble and competition from China.

Several big banks posted strong quarterly results, but bank shares ended the day lower, including Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. The market reaction suggested businesses face a higher bar during the third-quarter earnings season, especially in technology. Semiconductors are expected to be the largest contributor to year-over-year earnings growth. FactSet data indicate expected blended earnings growth of roughly 30% for S&P 500 companies. FactSet data indicate expected earnings growth of 130% for semiconductors and semiconductor equipment.

Marta Norton, chief investment strategist at Empower, said chip business fundamentals are very strong and chip demand is difficult to dispute. However, Norton questioned how much of those fundamentals stock prices already reflect. Norton said the concern is less about the strength of business fundamentals than about how much further valuations can rise.

Bank of America and Morgan Stanley are due to release quarterly results Wednesday morning. Netherlands-based semiconductor company ASML also reports.