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US stocks little changed amid earnings, Fed policy meeting

London - US stocks were little changed as investors awaited a Federal Reserve update for clues on the trajectory of interest-rate increases and weighed earnings reports.

The S&P 500 Index fell less than 0.1% to 2 167.99 at 9:32 a.m. in New York. The gauge retreated on Monday from a record, with energy producers sliding amid a decline in oil prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 17.74 points, to 18 475.32 on Tuesday.

The rally that pushed the S&P 500 up for four straight weeks is pausing as the Fed kicks off a two-day meeting, with economists estimating the central bank will keep borrowing costs unchanged at its conclusion on Wednesday.

Traders will also focus on earnings, with 45 companies in the S&P 500 scheduled to report results on Tuesday, including McDonald’s and Apple.

"I don’t get the sense that the stock market will rocket higher any time soon," said Mark Heppenstall, the Horsham, Pennsylvania-based chief investment officer of Penn Mutual Asset Management. His firm oversees about $20bn.

"It’s hard to make case to push the numbers up from here. A lot of those ways of boosting earnings are well played out. You’ll have to see earnings that will drive market from this point as opposed to financial engineering or cost cutting."

Traders are pricing in less than even odds of a rate increase until at least March 2017. While recent economic data have beaten forecasts, Chair Janet Yellen and her colleagues have emphasized a gradual pace of tightening.

Among stocks moving, Texas Instruments jumped after the largest maker of analog semiconductors forecast revenue and profit that may beat analysts’ estimates. DuPont Company gained 1.3% after lifting the lower end of its full-year earnings forecast.

Gilead Sciences dropped after lowering its annual product sales estimate and reporting lower-than-expected revenue in the second quarter for its hepatitis C drugs.

Data on Tuesday are forecast to show that the services industry grew at a faster pace in July, while consumer confidence slipped. New home sales probably increased in June.

Home prices in 20 US cities rose less than projected in May from a year earlier, signalling both buyers and sellers had the potential to benefit during the busy selling season, according to S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller data reported on Tuesday.

After recovering from its losses following the UK vote to leave the European Union, the S&P 500 went on to post seven records in 10 days.

Optimism that corporate earnings would help support stock prices has pushed the gauge up 19% from its low in February, with analysts easing their estimates for second-quarter profit declines at S&P 500 companies to 4.5%.

The S&P 500 is now up 6.1% for the year, one of the best performances among developed-market equities.

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