Stocks Slip Amid Fed Caution

U.S. stocks ended slightly lower on Tuesday as investors turned cautious on the day before the Federal Reserve chairman’s congressional testimony. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 32.41 points, or 0.21%, to 15,451.85. The S&P 500 dropped 6.24 points, or 0.37%, to 1,676.26 and The Nasdaq Composite fell 8.99 points, or 0.25%,to 3,598.50.

Yahoo Inc.(NASDAQ:YHOO) on Tuesday reported a second-quarter profit of $331.15 million, or 30 cents a share, compared with a profit of $226.63 million, or 18 cents a share, for the year-earlier period. Revenue, excluding traffic acquisition costs, was $1.07 billion, down from $1.08 billion. Adjusted profit was 35 cents a share.

Dell Inc may delay a shareholder meeting on a $24.4 billion buyout offer from founder Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake Partners, with the pivotal vote too close to call, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Google Inc.(NASDAQ:GOOG) has asked media companies about licensing content for an Internet TV service, a media report said Tuesday. Google Internet TV service would stream traditional programming, potentially challenging pay-TV operators, The Wall Street Journal reported.