US stocks drifted mostly lower Tuesday amid Greek debt concerns and as investors awaited the end of a Federal Reserve policy meeting hoping for new stimulus for the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 7.65 points (0.07 per cent) to finish 11,408.66.
The broader S&P 500 fell two points (0.17 per cent) to 1,202.09, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped a relatively hefty 22.59 points (0.86 per cent) to 2,590.24.
The indexes had followed European equities higher in most of the session as investors shrugged off Standard & Poor’s one-notch downgrade of Italy’s credit rating late Monday.
Attention was focused on Greece’s bailout talks with its lenders, the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund, for a new instalment on its rescue package.
The market also was anticipating the end of the US central bank’s two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday, with some traders expecting the launch of new stimulus to kick-start the weak economy.
“The market was up part on Europe’s reaction to Greece and Italy, and part in anticipation that the Fed was going to do something,” said Marc Pado at Cantor Fitzgerald.
“My concern is that we lacked conviction,” he said.
“It was a very trader-oriented day – in and out of stocks, quick, fast drop when support levels were broken.”
Investors digested a US government report showing housing starts fell in August, the latest in a string of negative data confirming the housing market collapse.
In corporate news, food maker ConAgra Foods reported disappointing fiscal first-quarter earnings after announcing late Monday it had withdrawn its rejected $US5 billion-plus takeover offer for rival Ralcorp. ConAgra shares fell 1.7 per cent; Ralcorp gained 0.9 per cent.
Shares in online video rental firm Netflix continued to plunge, tumbling 9.5 per cent to $US130.03, after the firm last week lowered its estimates for subscribers in the United States. The stock has lost more than a third of its value since the announcement.
Apple, meanwhile, rose 0.44 per cent to $US413.45 after surging to a new intraday record at $US422.86.
Rare earths company Molycorp plummeted 21.8 per cent after a JPMorgan downgrade due to a recent fall in rare-earth prices.
The bond market was mixed. The 10-year Treasury bond yield was essentially unchanged at 1.94 per cent from late Monday, while the 30-year bond climbed to 3.21 per cent from 3.19 per cent.
Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
