Major indexes inched lower Thursday, putting the brakes on a rally that had sent stocks to record highs in recent days, as investors digested closely watched economic data and awaited a flurry of corporate earnings reports.

The latest inflation and jobs data could prompt the Federal Reserve to "pause any further rate cuts for the time being," said Skyler Weinand, chief investment officer at Regan Capital in Dallas. "While the Fed cut rates by a deeper 50 basis points in September,

Futures tied to the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100 and the Dow industrials declined slightly.