NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Wall Street\u2019s record-breaking, weeklong run ran out of momentum on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% for its first drop after closing at an all-time high in six successive days<\/a>. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 204 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite shaved 0.4% off its own record.<\/p>\n SoFi Technologies climbed 6.6%, but Merck dropped 1.7% and UPS sank 10.6% following a torrent of profit reports from big U.S. companies. They\u2019re among the hundreds of companies telling investors this week how much they made during the spring, including nearly a third of the stocks in the S&P 500 index.<\/p>\n Treasury yields eased in the bond market as the Federal Reserve began a two-day meeting <\/a> where they will decide what to do with short-term interest rates.<\/p>\n Despite angry lobbying from President Donald Trump for lower rates, which would give the economy a boost, the widespread expectation is that the Fed will wait for more data about how Trump\u2019s tariffs are affecting inflation and the economy before making its next move.<\/p>\n The U.S. economy has seemed to hold up OK so far despite the pressures of tariffs, though it does appear to be slowing. One report on Tuesday said that U.S. employers were advertising fewer job openings <\/a> at the end of June than a month before, though still more than economists expected. A separate report said confidence rose among U.S. consumers<\/a>, but a measure of their expectations about the near term remains below the level that typically signals a recession ahead.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n AP AUDIO: Wall Street edges back from its records as its busy week picks up momentum\n <\/p>\n U.S. stocks are nearing record levels Tuesday as a busy week for Wall Street picks up momentums. The AP\u2019s Damian Troise reports. <\/p>\n \u201cConsumer confidence has stabilized since May, rebounding from April\u2019s plunge, but remains below last year\u2019s heady levels,\u201d according to Stephanie Guichard, senior economist, global indicators, at The Conference Board.<\/p>\n Wall Street had a relatively muted reaction after China\u2019s top trade official said <\/a> that China and the United States have agreed to work on extending a deadline for new tariffs on each other. Trade officials from the world\u2019s two largest economies had been talking in Stockholm ahead of an Aug. 12 deadline, after which much higher tariffs are scheduled to resume.<\/p>\n