Stocks fall as China trade deal hopes slump on Trump tweets, with earnings mixed

Stocks were lower midsession Tuesday after President Donald Trump renewed his attacks on China, undermining hopes the world’s two largest economies will reach a trade deal while investors also digested mixed corporate earnings reports.

Investors were also awaiting the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates due Wednesday with a quarter percentage point cut expected.

How are the major benchmarks faring?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.00% was off 54 points, or 0.2%, at 27,164 while the S&P 500 index SPX, -0.13% fell 10 points, or 0.3%, to 3,010, and the Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.01% retreated 28 points to 8,264, a decline of 0.4%.

What’s driving the market?
President Trump ratcheted up pressure on China to quickly reach a trade deal, warning that if he is re-elected, the terms of an agreement would be much tougher than what is currently being discussed.