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The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell for a second straight day on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve kicked off a two-day monetary policy meeting.
The 30-stock index came off its morning lows, but remained 32.14 points behind breakeven to 27,044.68
The S&P 500 inched up 0.44 points to 2,998.40.
The NASDAQ Composite gained 6.11 points to 8,159.65.
Strong U.S. manufacturing data and a drop in oil prices helped keep the stock market’s losses in check.
Bank stocks fell broadly, as Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank of America all slid around 1%
The Fed meeting is scheduled to end Wednesday, when the central bank is expected to announce its latest decision on monetary policy.
Market expectations for a 25 basis-point rate cut were at 63.5%. However, the possibility of the Fed keeping rates unchanged has risen lately. Expectations for the central bank to maintain the overnight rate at its current levels are at 36.5%, up from 7.7% a week ago.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.80% from Monday’s 1.85%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices stepped back $3.20 to $59.75 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices regained $1.60 to $1,513.10 U.S. an ounce.
