US close: Wall Street slips ahead of Apple and the Fed

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished lower by 22 points to 17,581.43, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were five points off and flat, at 2,065.89 and 5,030.15, respectively.

Mixed economic data

On the economic data front, according to the Commerce Department, orders for goods made to last more than three years declined 1.2% over the month in September compared with the 1.5% decline analysts had forecast but marking their second consecutive drop.

August's reading was revised downward to show a 3% drop compared with the initial figure showing a 2.3% decline.

"The details of the report suggest that equipment investment expanded only modestly in the third quarter and could be even softer in the fourth quarter," said Steve Murphy, US economist at Capital Economics.

"The strong dollar, weak global demand, and the contraction in the energy and manufacturing sectors are all weighing on demand for capital goods."

There was downbeat use on the consumer confidence front as well, as the Conference Board´s index declined from a downwardly revised 102.6 to 97.6 in October, compared with expectations for a print of 102.9.

Earnings in focus

Among the companies that reported quarterly earnings before the opening bell, Alibaba rose 4% after the Chinese e-commerce giant posted better-than-expected quarterly revenue.

Biopharmaceutical giant Pfizer advanced 2.43% after its results beat Wall Street's estimates and the firm raised its full-year outlook, even though revenue and earnings both declined on the back of some adverse currency movements.

Going the other way, tobacco group Reynolds American surrendered 2.3% despite posting better-than-expected quarterly revenue, while profit was in line with estimates.

Ford Motor fell 5% after the car-maker's quarterly operating profit increased, although operating earnings slightly missed expectations, while JetBlue Airways slumped 3% even though its third quarter revenue rose in line with consensus.

Printing technology provider Lexmark crashed 13% after swinging to a loss and cutting its full-year outlook, while media company Comcast slid 1% after its quarterly earnings left investors disappointed.

After the closing bell, investors were set to turn their attention to Twitter and Apple, with both companies scheduled to publish their latest quarterly results.

"Few doubt Apple’s earnings power but there is a concern that iPhone 6s sales won’t live up to sky-high expectations," said CMC Markets' analyst Jasper Lawler.

"If the number of iPhone units sees a year-over-year decline, it might be taken as a sign that the global smartphone super cycle has peaked.

From a sector standpoint the best performance was seen in the following industrial groups: Hotels (3.42%), Drug retailers (3.12%) and biotechnology (2.78%).

All eyes on the Fed

Finally, the Federal Open Market Committee kicked off its two-day meeting on Tuesday, with market participants looking to Wednesday's statement as they look for clues over the timing of a first interest rates hike.

However, analysts warned investors should not expect too much indication from the Fed, which is unlikely to give much away, one way or the other.

"While the US central bank is probably not going to raise rates in December, be assured we’re unlikely to get any form of confirmation either way this week," said Michael Van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets.

Elsewhere, Asian stocks closed on a mixed note, while their European counterparts pulled back slightly and oil prices fell.

Front West Texas Intermediate gained 0.37% to $43.36 a barrel.

S&P 500 - Risers
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT) $74.81 +9.13%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $290.63 +5.84%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $121.01 +5.44%
Corning Inc. (GLW) $18.26 +5.43%
Wyndham Worldwide Corp. (WYN) $80.64 +5.41%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $44.09 +5.35%
Allergan plc (AGN) $285.77 +5.23%
Coach Inc. (COH) $31.65 +4.39%
Amerisource Bergen Corp. (ABC) $97.54 +4.18%
Textron Inc. (TXT) $40.43 +4.15%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $16.93 -21.84%
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) $6.98 -21.22%
Cummins Inc. (CMI) $102.35 -8.70%
Xerox Corp. (XRX) $9.29 -7.38%
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (HIG) $45.34 -7.11%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $51.20 -6.72%
Murphy Oil Corp. (MUR) $26.19 -5.83%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $6.72 -5.75%
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) $65.29 -5.38%
Union Pacific Corp. (UNP) $90.24 -5.18%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $62.05 +2.78%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $119.37 +2.44%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $34.99 +2.43%
Boeing Co. (BA) $148.46 +1.20%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $53.47 +1.06%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $113.41 +0.57%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $29.05 +0.35%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $100.19 +0.25%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $113.77 +0.22%
3M Co. (MMM) $156.73 +0.12%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $137.86 -4.04%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $70.39 -1.58%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $98.88 -1.35%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $87.70 -1.21%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $53.69 -1.03%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $57.48 -0.93%
Visa Inc. (V) $77.52 -0.84%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $114.55 -0.63%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $111.64 -0.48%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $124.47 -0.43%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $290.63 +5.84%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $121.01 +5.44%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $44.09 +5.35%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $173.86 +4.58%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $567.79 +4.02%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $176.59 +3.87%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $49.22 +2.97%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $34.30 +2.69%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $83.02 +2.52%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $66.48 +2.29%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $51.20 -6.72%
CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (CHRW) $69.99 -3.46%
Keurig Green Mountain Inc (GMCR) $51.58 -3.12%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $64.56 -2.79%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $23.89 -2.45%
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $57.66 -2.35%
Expeditors International Of Washington Inc. (EXPD) $50.46 -2.32%
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $210.35 -2.28%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $81.76 -2.26%
CA Inc. (CA) $27.38 -1.78%