Stocks - Energy, Health, Tech Shares Lead as Wall Street Waits

Investing.com - Stocks overall pulled back modestly Tuesday, despite nibbling at energy, health care and tech stocks, as investors await trade news and a decision from the Federal Reserve.

The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrials were each down 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.07%, and the Nasdaq 100 index dipped 0.1%. The US SmallCap 2000 index ended essentially flat.

The waiting was the story. The first question was whether the Trump Administration will impose new tariffs on a host of imports from China, including cell phones, notebook computers and even frozen fish. The tariffs are supposed to be imposed on Sunday.

The talk in Washington was the United States and China were working on a deal to delay the tariffs while negotiations on a trade deal continue. And a phase one deal might include rolling back tariffs imposed in September.

The second question is what the Federal Reserve will decide Wednesday afternoon on interest rates. The central bank is widely expected to leave its key federal funds rate at 1.5% to 1.75%. Chairman Jerome Powell has said further cuts are not needed in an economy that's growing steadily.

There was some certain news. The Trump Administration and Congress have agreed on a new treaty to replace that North American Free Trade Agreement.

The market seemed to ignore the ongoing impeachment process.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) was among the day's winners on reports that sales in China are doing well. Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Peloton Interactive (NASDAQ:PTON) were weak on worries about their business prospects .

Oil and gold prices were higher. Interest rates also moved up, which weighed on housing stocks.

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