Stocks Closed Slightly Higher

U.S. stocks closed slightly higher on Tuesday, as investors shrugged off mildly disappointing economic reports on inflation and housing market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 27.48 points, or 0.16%, to 16,808.49. The S&P 500 was up 4.21 points, or 0.22%, to 1,941.99. The Nasdaq Composite gained 16.13 points, or 0.37%, to 4,337.23.

Consumer prices rose in May by the most in more than a year, showing U.S. companies are gaining some pricing power as the economy strengthens, and the homebuilding industry stabilized after a first-quarter swoon.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to chop another $10 billion from its monthly bond purchases at a meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday but make few, if any, other concrete policy moves.

Oracle Corp. is scheduled to report its fiscal fourth-quarter results after the close of trading Thursday. Oracle is expected to report sales of $11.48 billion compared with total sales of $10.9 billion a year ago.