WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Following the lackluster performance seen in the previous session, stocks continue to experience choppy trading on Tuesday. The major averages have pulled back near the unchanged line after moving to the upside at the start of trading.
Currently, the major averages are posting modest losses. The Dow is down 148.45 points or 0.3 percent at 44,689.11, the Nasdaq is down 17.28 points or 0.1 percent at 21,161.30 and the S&P 500 is down 5.72 points or 0.1 percent at 6,384.05.
The choppy trading on Wall Street comes as traders seem reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.
While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, the announcement could impact the outlook for rates.
The Labor Department's monthly jobs report is also likely to be in focus in the coming days along with earnings news from Magnificent Seven members Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META).
Traders also continue to keep an eye on trade talks between the U.S. and China in Stockholm ahead of Friday's 'reciprocal tariff' deadline.
President Donald Trump said on Monday that most trading partners that do not negotiate separate trade deals would soon face tariffs of 15 percent to 20 percent on their exports to the United States.
In U.S. economic news, the Conference Board released a report showing consumer confidence in the U.S. saw a modest improvement in the month of July.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index rose to 97.2 in July after falling to a revised 95.2 in June.
Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to increase to 95.8 from the 93.0 originally reported for the previous month.
The Labor Department released a separate report showing job openings in the U.S. decreased by slightly less than expected in the month of June.
Sector News
Reflecting the lackluster performance by the broader markets, most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day.
Pharmaceutical stocks have shown a substantial move to the downside, however, with the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index tumbling by 2.2 percent.
Significant weakness has also emerged among transportation stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent slump by the Dow Jones Transportation Average.
Oil service and steel stocks have also moved to the downside on the day, while notable strength is visible among natural gas and commercial real estate stocks.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.8 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. The German DAX Index is up by 1.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.7 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved notably higher following the weakness seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 6.6 basis points at 4.354 percent.
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