Stocks ended Tuesday's session relatively flat as market participants looked ahead to a big batch of mega-cap tech quarter earnings and the Federal Open Market Committee's latest monetary policy decision on Wednesday. The S&P 500 held near its record level, as the Dow inched forward and the Nasdaq slipped lower.
Meanwhile, consumer confidence rose higher-than-expected in April, as consumers were encouraged by the accelerated U.S. vaccination effort and easing pandemic restrictions boosted economic outlooks. The Conference Board's monthly consumer confidence index increased to 121.7 in April, up from March's downwardly revised reading of 109.
"Consumers' assessment of current conditions improved significantly in April, suggesting the economic recovery strengthened further in early Q2," Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at the Conference Board, said in a press statement Tuesday. "Consumers' optimism about the short-term outlook held steady this month. Consumers were more upbeat about their income prospects, perhaps due to the improving job market and the recent round of stimulus checks. Short-term inflation expectations held steady in April, but remain elevated. Vacation intentions posted a healthy increase, likely boosted by the accelerating vaccine rollout and further loosening of pandemic restrictions."
Here's how the market settled on Tuesday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
For Stocks, GameStop
For Sector Performance, sector ended Tuesday's session mostly in the red, with only Energy
For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar
For Wednesday, traders will react to the Fed's latest monetary policy decision as well as earnings from Microsoft