* Bernanke, Obama uncertainty weighs
* Consumer confidence rises more than expected
* Apple up on results, head of tablet
* Indexes off: Dow 0.03 pct, S&P 0.4 pct, Nasdaq 0.3 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click []
(Adds Yahoo earnings in paragraph 10, volume figures in final
two paragraphs)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Jan 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks slipped late on
Tuesday due to trepidation over churning political and
regulatory developments, offsetting solid earnings and improved
consumer confidence data.
Gains faded late as investors turned cautious before the
Federal Reserve's policy announcement and President Barack
Obama's State of the Union address on Wednesday night. For
details, see []
The Fed's Open Market Committee began a two-day meeting on
Tuesday against the backdrop of a Senate debate over Chairman
Ben Bernanke's reconfirmation. The meeting is expected to yield
few policy shifts, with a Fed statement on the economy and
interest rates expected on Wednesday. [].
"Most people expect the FOMC to leave rates unchanged. They
are not expecting a big statement at this time just because
Bernanke still hangs on the cliff," said Kenneth Polcari,
managing director of ICAP Equities in New York.
"People are much more interested in what the president is
going to say -- how his presentation is going to come across,
does it look like he is changing the message, is he going to
remain true to the values that he ran on, is he succumbing to
more of a populist vote?"
The Senate is expected to vote this week on confirmation of
Bernanke for a second term as Fed chairman. Bernanke has been
criticized for the Fed's handling of the financial crisis, but
Senate leaders predict he will be confirmed.
U.S. stocks fell 5 percent in a three-day span to close out
last week after the Obama administration proposed new
restrictions on large banks.
After a lower open, stocks rose on data showing consumer
confidence rose for a third straight month in January to its
highest level since September 2008, easing concerns about
individual spending. []
The Dow Jones industrial average <> shed 2.57 points,
or 0.03 percent, to 10,194.29. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
<.SPX> fell 4.61 points, or 0.42 percent, to 1,092.17. The
Nasdaq Composite Index <> lost 7.07 points, or 0.32
percent, to 2,203.73.
After the closing bell, Yahoo Inc <YHOO.O> reported
fourth-quarter earnings in line with Wall Street expectations
and forecast first-quarter revenue flat to slightly higher than
the year-ago period. []. The Internet company's
shares gained 1.9 percent to $16.30 in after-hours trading.
Verizon Communications Inc <VZ.N> was the second biggest
drag on the Dow after saying it faced a slower-than-expected
recovery. []. Its shares fell 1.6 percent to
$30.17.
But a number of companies turned in positive report cards.
Travelers <TRV.N> was the top boost on the Dow, up 2.7 percent
to $50.23, after the property-casualty insurer posted a profit
that beat Wall Street's estimate. []
Apple <AAPL.O> gained 1.5 percent to $205.94, a day after
reporting strong quarterly results and on growing anticipation
over its tablet product launch on Wednesday. []
The iPhone maker provided the biggest lift to the Nasdaq,
followed by Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O>, up 0.7 percent to $29.50,
which is scheduled to report results later this week.
Volume was light on the New York Stock Exchange, with about
1.12 billion shares changing hands, below last year's estimated
daily average of 2.18 billion. On the Nasdaq, about 2.4 billion
shares traded, above last year's daily average of 1.63 billion.
Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by
a ratio of 5 to 3, while decliners outnumbered advancers on
Nasdaq by a ratio of about 2 to 1.
(Editing by Kenneth Barry)
