As of 10:31 AM ET (1431 GMT), the Dow Jones was down 124 points, or 0.4%, while the S&P 500 was up 0.1% and the NASDAQ Composite was up 0. 5%.
Lawmakers are rushing to finalize a debt ceiling deal that includes limits on growth in non-defense spending and the return of unused funds earmarked for the fight against COVID-19. Congress has until early June to raise or suspend the limit, which the agreement provides for until early 2025, or the government risks defaulting on debt payments.
However, not everyone likes the agreement, which sets the stage for a fight in the House of Representatives this week. Some of its Republican members have said they won't support the deal because it doesn't have enough cuts. Some Democrats have expressed reservations about provisions such as new work requirements for certain food aid and other benefits.
CB consumer confidence came in at 102.3, higher than the expected 99 for May.
Chip maker NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) jumped 4.8% after the company unveiled a new set of AI-related products, including a new supercomputer that will help meet customer demand. Its stock valuation has reached $1 trillion, up from last week when the company predicted a huge increase in earnings from its artificial intelligence business.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares rose 3.5% as CEO Elon Musk visited China for the first time in 3 years, meeting with the country's foreign minister on Tuesday.
The Transportation Security Administration said it screened 9.8 million people at airports Friday through Monday, breaking the record for the 2019 holiday weekend that preceded the pandemic. American Airlines Group (NASDAQ: AAL) was up 1.4%, United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: UAL) was up 1.4% and Southwest Airlines Company (NYSE: LUV) was up 1%.
It's a busy week for labor market data, with the jobs report coming out on Wednesday and the government's May jobs report coming out on Friday morning.
The Federal Reserve will study this data as it prepares for a meeting next month to decide on the next move on the interest rate. Futures traders give a 65% chance that the Fed will raise rates another quarter of a percentage point in June.
Oil has fallen in price. WTI futures fell 3.7% to $69.94 a barrel, while Brent futures fell 3.8% to $74.19 a barrel. Gold futures rose 0.7% to $1.977.
