The S&P 500 moved lower Tuesday on the heels of a key debt ceiling meeting between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that failed to produce a resolution.
The Dow Jones Industrials inched upward 7.76 points to move toward noon EDT Tuesday at 33,294.34.
The S&P 500 handed back 9.17 points to 4,183.46.
The NASDAQ backpedaled 16.16 points to 12,704.62.
McCarthy and Biden met at the White House Monday evening, in a discussion that the House speaker described as “productive” and “professional.” The latest hourlong talk – occurring just days before the earliest date that the U.S. could default on its debt – concluded without a resolution but seemed to echo a more positive tone.
Elsewhere, Apple moved slightly lower after announcing a multi-billion-dollar chip production deal with Broadcom. The chip stock gained about 2%. Yelp popped 9% as an activist investor called for the company to explore a sale.
In other news, rising oil prices helped lift the broader energy sector, while Chevron added 3% on an upgrade from HSBC.
Stocks are coming off a mixed Monday session that saw the Dow lose about 0.4% and the S&P 500 finished little changed. The NASDAQ rose 0.5% to touch its highest intraday level and highest close since August.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury skidded a bit, raising yields to 3.74% from Monday's 3.71%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices added $1.07 to $73.12 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices removed $10.10 to $1,967.10 U.S. an ounce.