US stocks cautious at open, Nasdaq retreat after hitting fresh intraday record highs

Major US equity indices opened slightly higher on Tuesday, with Nasdaq Composite hitting fresh intraday record high immediately after the opening bell. 

Despite of the positive opening, markets lacked any follow through momentum and reversed majority of early gains. At the time of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 18-points to 20,931, while the broader S&P 500 Index was absolutely flat around 2,388. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite retreated from record high level of 6,102 and was last seen trading absolutely flat around 6,088, down nearly 3-points.

Investors seemed reluctant to place fresh bets ahead of the FOMC two-day monetary policy meeting, starting later today. With status quo Fed decision already priced-in, the central banks future path of rate-hikes might now act as a fresh catalyst for the next of directional move in the market. 

Investors also braced for quarterly earnings reports from a slew of high-profile blue-chip companies, including Apple. With no major economic data due for release on Tuesday, monthly auto sales numbers should provide some impetus through Tuesday's trading session.