: S&P 500 ekes out gain, stocks drift as earnings pick up

U.S. stocks drifted, closing mostly lower on Tuesday, as investors waited for earnings season to gather more steam. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA ended down 10 points, or less than 0.1%, near 33,976, while the S&P 500 index SPX gained 0.1%, according to preliminary figures from FactSet. The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP fell less than 0.1%. Bank of America BAC and Goldman Sachs GS were among the major banks to report quarterly results, while streaming giant Netflix Inc. NFLX was on deck after the bell. It is ending its red-envelope DVD rental service after 25 years. Investors also heard Tuesday from several more staffers at the Federal Reserve, with Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic telling Reuters that he expects one more rate hike, but for the Fed’s policy rate to stay higher for awhile. Continued gridlock in Washington on the debt-ceiling stalemate also has been coming into focus for markets. BlackRock also sold the first batch of seized assets from Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, which fetched about 85 cents to 90 cents on the dollar.

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