U.S. stocks were mostly steady Tuesday as Wall Street remained in a late-summer lull, with investors waiting for a key Federal Reserve update later this week.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% after little movement on Monday, holding close to last week’s record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 68 points, or 0.2%, while the Nasdaq composite fell 0.4% in early trading.

Home Depot rose 3.1% after reporting quarterly results slightly below forecasts, saying customers are focusing on smaller repairs instead of big projects due to high interest rates and inflation worries. Still, it reaffirmed its full-year outlook. Other major retailers, including Lowe’s, Target, Walmart and Ross Stores, are set to report earnings later this week.

Attention remains fixed on Friday, when Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to deliver a closely watched speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Investors hope for hints about upcoming rate cuts, though Bank of America strategists cautioned Powell may remain cautious and raise the risk of “stagflation,” a mix of weak growth and persistent inflation.

The Fed has kept rates unchanged this year, concerned about Trump administration tariffs fueling inflation, but weaker job growth has fueled expectations of a rate cut in September. Treasury yields edged lower Tuesday, with the 10-year yield falling to 4.31% from 4.34%.

Among individual movers, Palo Alto Networks surged 6.5% after beating profit and revenue forecasts, while Tegna jumped 4.8% following Nexstar Media Group’s $6.2 billion acquisition deal. Nexstar itself rose 7.2%.

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In contrast, Viking Therapeutics plunged nearly 40% after disappointing trial results for its obesity treatment pill.

Overseas, European markets gained, while Tokyo’s Nikkei slipped 0.4% as SoftBank dropped 4% after investing $2 billion in Intel. Shares of Intel, however, rose 7.5% amid speculation the Trump administration could take a stake in the chipmaker.

Source: Agency