MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks Trade Mildly Higher Ahead Of Fed

By Kate Gibson

U.S. stocks on Tuesday tilted mildly higher as investors largely adopted a wait-and-see stance before the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision while digesting a weather-related drop in housing starts for February.

While the Fed's widely expected to keep its target rate for overnight loans at between zero and 0.25%, the words from the central bank's accompanying policy statement will be analyzed for clues as to the timing of future rate-hike moves.

"Nearly everyone expects the Fed to leave the policy rate unchanged. But the language used when communicating this decision is pretty important," said Kevin Giddis, head of fixed income at Morgan Keegan, of the statement slated for release at 2:15 p.m. Eastern.

Struggling to extend gains into a sixth day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was lately up 3.55 points at 10,645.71, with 14 of its 30 components in the green.

On the New York Stock Exchange, eight stocks were on the rise for every five on the decline.

A day after finishing at a 17-month high, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) added 2.48 points to 1,152.99, with natural-resource companies leading the gains. The Nasdaq Composite Index (RIXF) also rose, up 3.5 points to 2,365.71.

Ahead of Tuesday's open, the Commerce Department reported new-home construction fell 5.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 575,000. The January count was revised up to a pace of 622,000 units.

In a separate report, the Labor Department said the price of imports declined 0.3% in February, the first drop in seven months.

A standout among retailers was Limited Brands Inc. (LTD), shares of which rose 4.6%. The company declared a special dividend of $1 a share and said it would repurchase up to $200 million in stock.

The dollar fell against the euro and the Japanese yen, while the price of crude oil neared $81 a barrel.