Stocks Edged Lower ahead of Earnings, Yellen

U.S. stocks edged lower in the early trading on Tuesday, ahead of earnings releases by large banks and Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen’s congressional testimony later this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 3.32 points, or 0.02%, to 21,405.20. The S&P 500 was down 3.54 points, or 0.15%, to 2,423.89. The Nasdaq Composite was off 1.19 points, or 0.02%, to 6,175.21.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday as global oversupply encouraged several banks to cut their forecasts for crude for this year and 2018. Benchmark Brent crude was down 15 cents at $46.73 a barrel by 1310 GMT. U.S. light, sweet crude was 15 cents lower at $44.25.

A gauge of U.S. small-business confidence fell in June as business owners expressed frustration over gridlock in Washington, according to a National Federation of Independent Business report released on Tuesday. The group’s Index of Small Business Optimism fell to 103.6 last month from 104.5 in May, although it remains near its highest level in more than a decade.

PepsiCo Inc’s (PEP) quarterly profit beat estimates as higher pricing of sodas and snack foods in North America paid off and as the company sold its minority stake in British bottler Britvic Plc (BVIC.L). Net income attributable to PepsiCo rose to $2.11 billion, or $1.46 per share, from $2.01 billion, or $1.38 per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 2.1 percent to $15.71 billion.