The S&P 500 ended Tuesday near the flatline as Wall Street waits for the latest Federal Reserve decision on interest rates.
The benchmark slipped 0.06% to close at 4,924.97. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 133.86 points, or 0.35% to end at 38,467.31, marking its seventh record close this year. The Nasdaq Composite pulled back 0.76% to finish at 15,509.90.
Traders will watch for updates out of the Federal Open Market Committee's two-day policy meeting that got underway Tuesday. The fed funds futures market has priced in a 97% probability that the central bank will leave rates unchanged, according to the CME FedWatch tool, so investors are instead left anticipating a shift in the policy statement that will close out the meeting.
General Motors shares popped nearly 8% after the automaker posted better-than-expected earnings. Cybersecurity stock F5 gained just shy of 1% on the back of a better-than-expected financial report, while electronics manufacturer Sanmina soared more than 28% after posting strong earnings per share and current-quarter guidance.
Elsewhere, appliances maker Whirlpool shed 6.6% after sharing a worse-than-expected outlook for the full year. JetBlue fell 4.7% after forecasting little to no revenue growth in 2024, and costs per available seat mile rising in the mid- to high single digits, excluding fuel.
Those reports come ahead of major tech reports due out post-market, including Microsoft and Alphabet.
"Technically, the table is set for U.S. equity indexes to trade higher in the short term," said Joseph Cusick, senior vice president at Calamos Investments. "But will the fundamental risks evolve in the coming days and undercut current price action? Until bears take control, it remains the case that markets at fresh all-time closing highs demand respect."
Wall Street is coming off a winning session that brought the Dow and S&P 500 to their sixth record closes of the year. So far, 144 companies have reported quarterly results this earnings season, or about 29% of the index. About 79% of companies that have posted results surpassed Wall Street estimates, compared to an average 76% clip over the past four quarters.