Investing.com-- U.S. stocks closed nearly unchanged on Tuesday despite a stronger-than-expected retail sales report which helped allay fears of a sharp economic slowdown ahead of the Federal Reserve's latest policy-setting meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 closed flat on the day while the NASDAQ Composite was up 0.2%.
Retail sales unexpectedly rise in August
Data released earlier Tuesday showed that US retail sales rose 0.1% in August on a monthly basis, better than the expected 0.2% decrease, after having climbed a revised 1.1% the prior month.
This number helped reassure investors that the consumer remained relatively healthy, which could prevent a sharp economic slowdown given the importance of the retail sector to the U.S. economy.
This economic news comes as the Federal Reserve starts its two-day policy-setting meeting, which is expected to result in a cut to interest rates at its conclusion on Wednesday.
Traders were seen pricing in a 68% chance for a 50 bps reduction and a 32% chance for a 25 bps cut, CME Fedwatch showed.
Uncertainty over the scale of the cut had spurred some volatility on Wall Street in recent sessions, although both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average remained close to record highs.
Comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the conclusion of the two-day Fed meeting will be studied carefully, as investors seek guidance of the likely extent of the easing cycle that could bring more interest rate cuts in the coming months.
Intel surges on foundry plans
In the corporate sector, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) rallied 2.7% after the chipmaker announced plans to spin off its foundry business, and that it will sell off part of its stake in Altera.
The plan will see Intel turn its foundry business into a unit with its own board, and will also allow the cash-burning unit to raise capital from external investors.
The move comes just a month after Intel clocked heavy share losses on disappointing quarterly earnings.
Intel also announced a deal to make a custom chip for Amazon's (NASDAQ:AMZN) web services unit.
Shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) rose 0.8% after the software giant announced a $60 billion share buyback program, and also hiked its quarterly dividend by 10%.
Crude prices higher
Crude prices edged higher Tuesday, continuing to build on the previous gains caused by the disruption to U.S. output in the wake of Hurricane Francine.
By 16:00 ET, the Brent contract climbed 1.5% to $73.85 per barrel, while U.S. crude futures (WTI) traded 1.6% higher at $70.12 per barrel.
Both contracts settled higher on Monday in the aftermath of the latest hurricane to impact the Gulf of Mexico crude-producing region, and as traders awaited the start of an easing cycle by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
More than 12% of crude production and 16% of natural gas output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico remained offline, according to the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement on Monday.
(Peter Nurse, Scott Kanowsky and Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)