The New York Stock Exchange moved in a scattered order on Tuesday, not far from balance, and remained in a standby position ahead of new economic data.
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The Dow Jones index lost 0.35%, the tech-dominated Nasdaq rose 0.05% and the S&P 500 lost 0.06% at around 3:05 p.m. GMT.
The day before, Wall Street had taken a step back from its previous week's records. The Dow Jones fell 0.16% to 39,069.23 points, the Nasdaq fell 0.13% to 15,976.25 points and the S&P 500 fell 0.38% to 5,069.53 points.
The indices had to digest a consumer confidence index that fell shortly after the open and posted an unexpected drop in February.
As measured by the Conference Board, household morale deteriorated to 106.7 versus 110.9 points instead of the expected 115, an unpleasant surprise.
Another negative sign: U.S. durable goods orders fell more than expected in January, weighed down by the transportation sector. They fell by 6.1% instead of the expected -5%.
“Businesses continue to face challenges related to rising borrowing costs and tighter credit conditions. However, lower interest rates this year could support activity in the long term,” commented Rubeela Farooqi, chief economist for High Frequency Economics.
The key indicator of the week is Thursday, when the Commerce Department releases January's PCE inflation index, the Federal Reserve's (Fed) preferred barometer for measuring rising prices.
Investors can also get a sense of the health of American consumers by looking at their spending and income numbers.
Yields on the bond market were almost stable, with the interest rate on ten-year bonds at 4.28% compared to 4.27%.
Several company results were received differently, particularly in sales.
Macy's department store shares rose 5.54% despite announcing falling sales in 2023 (-5.5%) and a 91% drop in profits.
Investors appeared to support the chain's initiative, which announced it would close 150 stores in the country by 2026, including about 10 earlier this year due to the “uncertain macroeconomic climate.”
Following the move, home appliance chain Lowe's gained 3.29%, although its sales fell 6.2% in the final quarter of 2023.
Zoom shares were in high demand (+5.43%) as the videoconferencing company reported better-than-expected earnings per share and quarterly revenue of $1.15 billion, slightly above forecasts.
The group also announced a $1.5 billion share buyback plan, which always has an immediate positive impact on the stock market.
Kroger supermarkets, whose competition regulator FTC refused on Monday to approve its plan to buy the Albertsons chain for $25 billion, rose 1.57% after losing nearly 2% the previous day.
Albertsons fell 1.74%.
Video game software provider Unity Software, which announced in January that it would cut 25% of its workforce, or 1,800 jobs, announced disappointing first-quarter guidance on Tuesday. The stock fell 9%.