Uneven Earnings Weigh on U.S. Stocks

Updated from 9:54 a.m. EDT

Wall Street was giving back ground Tuesday in the face of more uneven earnings reports and dour economic data, as well as an ongoing Federal Reserve meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 42 points to 12,829, and the S&P 500 surrendered 7 points at 1389. The Nasdaq Composite lost 10 points to 2414.

"It's another one of these quiet days," said Robert Pavlik, chief investment officer with Oaktree Asset Management. "The market is waiting on the Fed and the [gross domestic product] report, and then it'll be waiting on the employment report. The market is looking for another catalyst to drive us forward."

The Fed, which isn't due to render any decisions until Wednesday, is widely expected to shave 25 basis points off the fed funds target rate. Many observers have also predicted that the move will mark a pause in the central bank's months-long easing cycle. The overnight lending rate, which currently stands at 2.25%, has been brought down by 300 basis points since September.

Preliminary GDP numbers are due out tomorrow, as well, and the Labor Department should report its monthly employment data on Friday.

"It's all about the Fed statement tomorrow," said Chip Hanlon, president of Delta Global Advisors and contributor to RealMoney.com, a sister site to TheStreet.com. "If the Fed comes out of it and says it thinks it's done enough, and at least indicates it's going to pause its easing campaign, that continues to help the dollar and take the edge off these commodities in the short term."