Investing.com -- U.S. stocks closed relatively flat on Tuesday, in spite of continued declines in oil prices, as investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's release of its latest monetary policy statement following the completion of its March meeting.
Although the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is widely expected to leave its benchmark interest rate at its current level between 0.25 and 0.50% at the conclusion of its two-day March meeting on Wednesday afternoon, Fed chair Janet Yellen could provide indications on the pace of tightening the U.S. central bank will embark on for the remainder of the year. The rate decision comes days after the European Central Bank approved a comprehensive set of easing measures last week in an effort to bolster flagging economic growth throughout the euro zone. Any rate hikes this year are viewed as bearish for equities, as market players pile into less risky investments in bonds and U.S. Treasuries in order to capitalize on higher yields.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 22.40 or 0.13% to 17,251.53, while the NASDAQ Composite index fell 21.61 or 0.45% to 4,728.67, despite a strong performance from Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and a host of other major tech stocks. The Dow, which fell as much as 110 points at session lows, has now closed higher in seven of the last eight sessions. The S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, inched down 3.71 or 0.18% to 2,015.93, as six of 10 sectors closed in the red. Stocks in the Health Care and Basic Materials industries lagged, while stocks in the Technologies and Utilities sectors led. Health Care stocks fell precipitously by more than 1.7% on the session.
The top performer on the Dow was Apple, which added 2.02 or 1.97% to 104.54 after receiving optimistic iPhone demand forecasts by analysts from Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS). In March, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) expects iPhone demand to hit 56.5 million units, leading to quarterly revenue of $55 billion. As a result, the tech giant could eclipse consensus earnings per share forecasts by 0.20 for the quarter, according to Morgan Stanley. Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) fell 0.69 or 2.28% to 29.42 on Tuesday, closing as the Dow's worst performer for the second straight session. Pfizer has come under pressure in recent sessions from a ban of its popular cough syrup brand Corex in India.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Stericycle Inc (NASDAQ:SRCL), which jumped 2.59 or 2.23% to 118.54 after SEC filings indicated that institutional investor World Asset Management increased its stake in the Chicago-based hazardous waste disposal company by 5% in the fourth quarter. Shares in Stericycle are still down more than 17% over the last year. The worst performer was Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC), which fell 2.42 or 5.02% to 45.77, after SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) announced on Tuesday that it completed a long-awaited $17.2 billion acquisition of the Irvine, California-based computer data storage company.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (NYSE:MJN), which surged 8.37 or 11.09% to 83.81 The worst performer was Dublin-based specialty healthcare company Endo International, which plunged 8.59 or 20.41% to 33.49. Health care stocks were dragged down by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc (NYSE:VRX), which lost more than half of its stock value on Tuesday after the embattled Canadian pharmaceutical company reiterated plans to delay the filing of its 2015 annual report. Valeant also acknowledged that further delays pose increased default risks to its company, as U.S. regulators continue investigations into its business and accounting practices.
On the New York Stock Exchange, declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by a 2,286 to 808 margin.