U.S. stocks changed only slightly Tuesday in anticipation of the Federal Reserve meeting Wednesday.
The S&P 500 Index was up less than one point to 2,169.18 at 4 p.m. in New York, barely touching its first two-day losing streak since the Brexit secession vote a month ago. The index has rallied 8.4 percent in that time after a 5.3 percent rout in the two days following the U.K.’s shock decision to secede from the European Union. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1 percent to 18,473.61 on Tuesday, and the Russell 2000 Index of small caps added 0.6 percent.
The Fed begins its 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 Apple Inc.
Recent economic data have beaten forecasts but Chair Janet Yellen and her colleagues have emphasized the need for a gradual pace of tightening. Data has shown that consumer confidence fell by less than forecast, while new-home sales rose in June to the highest level in more than eight years. Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose less than projected in May from a year earlier.
Emerging Markets Up
Emerging-market stocks rose to an 11-month high on the probability that the U.S. and the Japanese central banks would continue to reinforce their economies by easing policies. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index climbed the most in a week before the Fed and the Bank of Japan meetings.
Indonesia led stock and currency gains as Sri Mulyani Indrawati, a managing director at the World Bank, was named as the new finance minister. Chinese equities dropped following a report that regulators may set a limit on the amount wealth-management products can invest in stocks.