U.S. stock futures struggled for direction on Tuesday, with investors opting for the sidelines ahead of the closely watched Federal Reserve meeting and a deluge of earnings, including updates from McDonald's, Verizon and Apple.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 20 points, or 0.1%, at 18,401, while those for the S&P 500 index lost 1.70 point, or about 0.1%, to 2,160. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index gained 4.50 points, or 0.1%, to 4,658.50.
The muted action follows a downbeat session on Monday, when the S&P 500 index and Dow industrials ended 0.3% and 0.4% lower, respectively.
Investors are wary of making any big moves ahead of an interest-rate decision from the Fed, due on Wednesday. The central bank kicks off its meeting on Tuesday, its first gathering since the U.K. on June 23 voted to leave the European Union.
"The Fed is expected to remain on hold and to deliver a cautious accompanying statement given the rising political and economic risks following the Brexit vote," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at London Capital Group.
"The expectations of a Fed rate hike by the end of the year have faded to zero. In contrary, the market is pricing in more than 50% chances for an interest rate cut in the U.S. by March 2017," she added.
Meanwhile the earnings deluge continues with some renewed optimism give the overall positive reporting trend to date.