Investing.com – U.S. stocks wavered in the first part of Tuesday’s session, trading mixed and close to flat in apparent precaution ahead of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) policy decision on the following day and after a flood of earnings and worse-than-expected macro data.
At 15:59GMT, or 13:59ET, the Dow Jones slipped 2 points, or 0.01%, while the S&P 500 edged up 4 points, or 0.17%, and the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite traded down 6 points, or 0.12%.
Larger moves in the main indices may have been muted by caution ahead of the Fed policy decision on Wednesday.
Though no one is expecting a rate hike, investors will focus on the statement to see if language changes hint at the possibility of a move in June.
Even so, a CNBC survey released on Wednesday showed that Wall Street experts on average expected the Fed to wait until August.
Amid the flood of earnings on Tuesday, DuPont (NYSE:DD) was a notable outlier as the chemicals and seed producer beat consensus with first quarter earnings and upped its full-year outlook, leading the Dow higher with a gain of more than 2%.
Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) and 3M Company (NYSE:MMM), however, led the decliners in the blue-chip index as the consumer products giant cut the top range of its profit forecast and missed on revenue, while the post-it making conglomerate was unable to convince investors despite beating on first-quarter earnings.
After the close, most eyes will probably be on Apple’s earnings report as the tech firm is expected to report its first drop in sales in 13 years.
However, fellow blue-chip index, AT&T (NYSE:T) will also been releasing its latest quarterly business figures.
On the economic front, total durable goods orders rose less than expected, while core orders unexpectedly fell.
Further underlining concerns over the health of the U.S. economy, American consumer confidence deteriorated more than expected in April, according to a report from the Conference Board.
Additionally, the S&P/Case-Shiller composite index revealed a lower than expected increase in house prices during the month of February.
Preliminary data from Markit also showed that the activity in the services sector increased less forecast in April.
Meanwhile, oil seemed unfazed by the constant flow of news concerning the supply gut as black gold was on track for a monthly gain of 14% in April in what would be its largest monthly gain in a year.
Traders looked ahead to fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products. The American Petroleum Institute will release its inventories report later in the day, while Wednesday’s government report could show crude stockpiles rose by 2.3 million barrels in the week ended April 22.
In this context, U.S. crude futures gained 3.24% to $44.01 a barrel by 16:01GMT, or 14:01ET, while Brent oil traded up 3.09% to $45.69.