U.S. stock indexes drifted lower Thursday following a mixed set of earnings reports from Morgan Stanley, UnitedHealth Group and other big companies. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% after flipping between small gains and losses through the day.

Asian stocks are mixed after Wall Street’s mostly positive performance ahead of key U.S. inflation data that could influence the pace of the Federal Reserve’s rate cuts

U.S. stock futures were rising on Wednesday thanks to stellar earnings from some of Wall Street’s biggest names. But monthly consumer price inflation data due later could dampen the mood. The Bureau o