Wall Street Holds Steady

Updated from 4:05 p.m. EST

U.S. stocks were stuck near the flat line for another session Tuesday as investors failed to find any catalysts to drive the action.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 4.57 points, or 0.04%, at 12,666.31, and the S&P 500 rose 1.01 points, or 0.07%, to 1448. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.89 point, or 0.04%, to 2471.49.

The market also struggled for traction on Monday, and the Dow tacked on just 8.25 points, or 0.07%, to 12,661.74, while the Nasdaq slipped 5.28 points, or 0.21%, at 2470.60.

"The overriding question for investors is whether this is a consolidation before further gains or a topping process that may lead to a long overdue period of profit-taking," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist with Spencer Clarke LLC.

On the Dow, General Motors (GM Quote) was the best performer, rising 2.2%. However, that gain was offset by Hewlett-Packard (HPQ Quote), which fell by 1.9%.

Meanwhile, Akamai Technologies (AKAM Quote) was one of the worst performers on the Nasdaq, falling 5.2%. On the other hand, Nvidia (NVDA Quote) rose 3.6%.

Roughly 2.11 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange. Advancers beat decliners by a 5-to-3 margin. Volume on the Nasdaq topped 2.14 billion shares, with winners outpacing losers 8 to 7.

As the economic calendar is light this week, investors were hoping to find more clues about the health of the economy in several speeches from Federal Reserve officials. All three speakers Tuesday, Chairman Ben Bernanke, San Francisco Fed President Janet Yellen, and Chicago Fed President Michael Moskow, provided no comments about the economy or interest rate policy.