Stocks Mixed Ahead Of Federal Reserve Decision

(RTTNews) - Stocks were mostly weaker Tuesday amid as falling crude oil prices remained a key driver of the markets.

The Dow picked up 0.1% to 17,251; S&P 500 finished down 0.2% at 2,015, and Nasdaq was off 0.5% at 4,728.

Traders were cautious ahead of tomorrow's Federal Reserve interest rate decision.

April WTI oil settled at $36.34/bbl on Nymex, down 84 cents, or 2.3 percent.

Mead Johnson (MDJ) jumped 11 percent to lead S&P 500 advancers, while shares of Endo International (ENDP) plunged 22 percent.

Apple (AAPL) shares rose 2 percent after Morgan Stanley said iPhone shipments on track to exceed forecasts

Traders reacted to several key economic reports, including a report from the Commerce Department showing a modest drop in retail sales in February.

The report said retail sales edged down by 0.1 percent in February after falling by a revised 0.4 percent in January. Economists had expected sales to dip by 0.1 percent compared.

The modest drop in retail sales was primarily due to another sharp decline in sales by gas stations, which plunged by 4.4 percent.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed a modest decline in producer prices in the month of February.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand fell by 0.2 percent in February after inching up by 0.1 percent in January. The modest drop matched economist estimates.

The decrease by the index was primarily due to the steep drop in energy prices, which plunged by 3.4 percent in February after tumbling by 5.0 percent in January.

Biotechnology, oil service and electronic storage stocks were also weak.

Steel stocks turned in some of the market's worst performances on the day amid concerns about the global economy.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index both ended the day down by 0.7 percent.

The European markets ended Tuesday's session in the red, snapping a 2-day winning streak. The markets got off to a weak start, due to the poor performance of the Asian markets.