Wall Street struggled for momentum Tuesday, giving up early gains as a rebound in technology stocks and renewed hope for progress in trade talks were offset by drops in Boeing and energy stocks.
Boeing Co. reported a 37 percent increase in 737 deliveries in October, but shares fell on concerns related to last month's deadly crash of a 737 operated by Indonesia's Lion Air. The stock finished down 2.9 percent, providing one of the bigger drags on the Dow.
Energy stocks weighed heaviest on the S&P 500, driven down after crude prices fell more than 7 percent.
Technology bounced back from recent losses; the Nasdaq finished even for the day.
U.S.-China trade tensions enjoyed a reprieve as negotiations between the world's two largest economies appeared to be making headway.
China President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to meet at a G-20 summit in Argentina at the end of November to try to iron out trade differences that have troubled markets for much of the year.
Tariff-vulnerable industrial stocks were up slightly, led by General Electric Co. and Caterpillar Inc.
"[Trade is] still an open question. It's still a work in progress," said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice president at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Ala. "It will continue to dog the markets short term until it gets worked out."
GE jumps
General Electric was up 7.6 percent as the conglomerate unveiled plans to raise $4 billion by accelerating a sale of its stake in oilfield services provider Baker Hughes.
Homebuilder Beazer Homes USA Inc. jumped 30.6 percent after its quarterly revenue topped estimates and the company announced a $50 million buyback scheme.
Home Depot Inc. posted better-than-expected same-store sales but suggested that U.S. home sales were slowing down and impending tariffs could lead to price hikes for its products. The stock finished off 0.2 percent.
Amazon.com shares closed down 0.3 percent following the online retailer's announcement that it had selected New York City and Northern Virginia for its two new headquarters.
Shares of Tyson Foods Inc dropped 5.6 percent after the top U.S. meat processor's sales missed Wall Street estimates because of lower demand for chicken.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4 percent, to 25,286; the S&P 500 lost 0.2 percent, to 2,722; and the Nasdaq Composite finished even at 7,200.
Third-quarter earnings season approaches the final stretch, with 91 percent of S&P 500 companies having reported, 77.5 percent of which have beaten estimates, according to Refinitiv data.
