NEW YORK (AP) - The stock market fell modestly on Tuesday as investors waited for a batch of big economic reports later this week.
On Wednesday, the government releases its look at economic growth in the spring quarter and the Federal Reserve finishes a two-day meeting. The next day, a report on China's manufacturing industry will give investors an update on the health of the world's factory floor.
For U.S. investors, the key news comes Friday, when the Labor Department releases its monthly report on the jobs market.
With traders cautious ahead of these reports, the market has drifted.
Stocks spent most of Tuesday wandering around the start line. Major indexes crept higher in the morning, following news that a gauge of consumer confidence hit its highest level in nearly seven years. Major indexes turned flat by midday then slid to a loss in the last hours of trading.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 8.96 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 1,969.95.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 70.48 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,912.11, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 2.21 points, less than 0.1 percent, to 4,442.70.