Source: Sharecast
As of 1440 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.06% at 45,257.24, while the S&P shed 0.05% to 6,435.92 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.07% weaker at 21,433.48.
The Dow opened 25.23 points lower on Tuesday, modestly extending losses recorded in the previous session.
Trump's reported effort to remove Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, whom he levelled with unproven accusations of mortgage fraud, reignited concerns over the central bank’s independence, with experts warning that the move could face a legal challenge in the courts. Under existing statute, Fed governors may only be dismissed "for cause".
The Federal Reserve Board currently comprises six members, following the resignation of Adriana Kugler earlier in August, and if Cook is removed, the board would shrink to five, though non-Trump appointees would retain a majority. However, if Stephen Miran is confirmed to fill Kugler's vacant seat and Cook is successfully ousted, Trump-aligned figures would hold a 4–3 majority. That influence could deepen further if chairman Jerome Powell steps down when his term ends in May, potentially handing the president a fifth vote.
On the macro front, durable goods orders fell by 2.8% in July to $302.8bn, according to the Census Bureau, extending June's revised 9.4% decline, but slightly less than expectations for a steeper 4% drop. July's reading comes amid an extended period of softer orders after US firms front-loaded imports in May as part of an effort to avoid paying the White House's aggressive tariffs.
Elsewhere, S&P Case-Shiller's home price index, which measures the change in selling price of single-family homes, posted an actual growth rate of 2.1% in June, down from 2.8% in May and bang in line with expectations. June's print seems to suggest that while the US housing market continued to grow, the rate at which it has grown has begun to decelerate.
Still to come, August consumer confidence figures and the Richmond Fed's manufacturing index will be published at 1500 BST.
No major corporate earnings were set for release on Tuesday.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Dow Jones - Risers
Nike Inc. (NKE) $79.17 1.01%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $158.20 0.01%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $24.55 0.00%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $67.14 0.00%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $740.53 0.00%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $288.47 0.00%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $227.16 0.00%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $504.26 0.00%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $11.97 0.00%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $85.31 -2.36%
3M Co. (MMM) $155.85 -1.81%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $68.93 -1.71%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $156.15 -1.59%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $272.34 -1.43%
Boeing Co. (BA) $226.87 -1.41%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $239.43 -1.10%
American Express Co. (AXP) $315.80 -1.05%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $117.71 -0.97%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $408.90 -0.94%
S&P 500 - Risers
Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $59.48 2.92%
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM) $64.21 2.05%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $33.13 1.78%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $4.69 1.74%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $35.77 1.73%
Corning Inc. (GLW) $66.78 1.54%
ConocoPhillips (COP) $98.18 1.45%
Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) $80.19 1.38%
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $46.40 1.24%
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) $147.11 1.20%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Eversource Energy (ES) $63.39 -4.72%
Gartner Inc. (IT) $241.47 -3.37%
Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $3.81 -3.05%
LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) $57.05 -2.93%
Perrigo Company plc (PRGO) $23.78 -2.90%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $25.14 -2.86%
Estee Lauder Co. Inc. (EL) $88.68 -2.80%
Western Union Co. (WU) $8.44 -2.76%
Dominion Energy Inc. (D) $60.19 -2.76%
Resmed Inc. (RMD) $285.80 -2.70%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $34.01 0.00%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $1,218.07 0.00%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $67.13 0.00%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $172.76 0.00%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $24.55 0.00%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $81.06 0.00%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $85.81 0.00%
Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $31.13 0.00%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $14.40 0.00%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $363.21 0.00%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $72.16 0.00%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $69.48 0.00%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $144.96 0.00%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $135.60 0.00%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $68.55 0.00%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $32.81 0.00%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $11.77 0.00%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $294.23 0.00%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $99.66 0.00%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $161.99 0.00%