US Stocks end mixed ahead of Fed meeting announcement

The US stocks were mostly lower on Tuesday, 16 March 2021, with the Dow and the S&P 500 ending session lower amid a wait-and-see mood before the announcement of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy-setting meeting on Wednesday.

At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index declined 127.51 points, or 0.39%, to 32,825.95. The S&P500 index fell 6.23 points, or 0.16%, to 3,962.71. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index added 11.86 points, or 0.09%, to 13,471.57.

The US stock market lacked direction for much of the day, as investors eyes were on the Fed's dot plot chart in which members of the U.S. central bank indicate their interest rate forecasts and remarks by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell at a news conference to be held after the Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

With the Fed in focus, traders largely shrugged off a batch of disappointing U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing retail sales pulled back by much more than anticipated in the month of February. The Commerce Department said retail sales plunged by 3% in February after soaring by an upwardly revised 7.6% in January.

The Federal Reserve also released a report showing an unexpected slump in U.S. industrial production in February, with steep drops in manufacturing and mining output more than offsetting a sharp increase in utilities output. The Fed said industrial production tumbled by 2.2% in February after jumping by an upwardly revised 1.1% in January.

The S&P 500 energy index tumbled almost 3% after a drop in oil prices while financials and industrials also retreated more than 1%. The communication services and technology indexes both rose more than 0.7%.

Apple Inc rose 1.3% after Evercore ISI hiked its price target on the iPhone maker's shares to the highest among analysts covering the company, according to Refinitiv data.

ECONOMIC NEWS: US Industrial Production Tumbles 2.2% In February- US industrial production plunged by 2.2% in February after jumping by an upwardly revised 1.1% in January, the Federal Reserve reported on Tuesday. The unexpected decrease in industrial production came as manufacturing output plunged by 3.1% in February after surging up by 1.2% in January. Mining output also showed a substantial pullback during the month, plummeting by 5.4% in February following a 2.1% spike in January.

US Homebuilder Confidence Eases In March- US NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index fell to 82 in March after inching up to 84 in February, the National Association of Home Builders reported on Tuesday. The pullback by the headline index came as the index gauging current sales conditions fell to 87 in March from 90 in February.

US Import Prices Increase 1.3% In February- US import prices increased by 1.3% in February after surging up by 1.4% in January, with fuel prices continuing to skyrocket, the Labor Department reported on Tuesday. Prices for fuel imports led the way higher once again, spiking by 11.1% in February after soaring by 9% in January. Prices for petroleum and natural gas both showed substantial growth. Excluding fuel imports, import prices rose by 0.4% in February following a 0.9% advance in the previous month. Compared to the same month a year ago, import prices in February were up by 3%, reflecting the biggest year-over-year jump since October of 2018.

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