Stock indexes edged lower on Wall Street on Tuesday, shedding early gains as investors weigh new data on inflation.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3%. The pullback follows back-to-back losses driven by worries about the economic collateral damage as the Federal Reserve tackles high inflation more aggressively.

A report showed inflation is still at its highest level in 40 years. Still, a faint silver lining was that inflation unexpectedly slowed in March on a month-over-month basis, after excluding the costs of food and fuel. The Fed pays close attention to that number, and Treasury yields fell immediately after the report.

The Associated Press reported that inflation still wasn't as bad as economists had expected if the price of fuel and food is ignored. The Federal Reserve pays special attention to what is known as "core inflation," when setting policy as this is less volatile.