NEW YORK — The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged higher in early trading Wednesday, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell after a report showed inflation running hotter than expected in September and Bank of America shares tumbled following a $1.2 billion regulatory penalty.

The Dow was up 59.82 points, or 0.12%, at 51,729.92 as of 9:56 a.m. Eastern time. The S&P 500 fell about 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite dropped about 0.7%, extending recent losses in technology stocks.

The market had closed slightly lower Tuesday. The Dow fell 179.56 points, or 0.35%, to 51,670.99, the S&P 500 slipped 0.02% to 7,805.65, and the Nasdaq lost 0.15% to 27,204.38.

Inflation tops forecasts

The consumer price index rose 3.7% in September from a year earlier, above the 3.6% economists had expected, according to the Labor Department report released before the opening bell.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.3% for the month and 2.6% from a year earlier. Both figures exceeded economists' expectations of 0.2% and 2.5%, respectively.

The hotter-than-expected figures add pressure on the Federal Reserve, which has been weighing whether further interest rate increases are needed to bring inflation under control. Before the........

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