us stocks are trading higher tuesday after a batch of mixed of corporate earnings reports and data showing a slightly slower rise in wages as investors make one last push to finish january on a strong note before another likely federal reserve interest rate rise on wednesday on monday the dow jones industrial average fell 261 points or 077 to 33717 the sp 500 declined 53 points or 13 to 4018 and the nasdaq composite dropped 228 points or 196 to 11394 the sp 500 has gained more than 5 this month the federal open market committee kicks off its twoday meeting on tuesday with near universal expectations for a quarter percentage point interest rate hike with the uncertainty focused on the commentary to be delivered in the statement and the press conference with chair jerome powell we doubt that the fed will deliver a dovish surprise at its meeting but the imminent end of interest rate hikes is nevertheless positive for risk appetite said willem sels global chief investment officer at hsbc global private banking  wealth that said the main beneficiaries lie outside of the us in emerging markets where borrowing costs are already declining as us treasury yields have peaked and the dollar is falling read also4 ways powell could tell markets the fed isnt ready to pivot the us dollar index is down 11 from its late september peak the yield on the 10year treasury has fallen nearly 70 basis points from its late october peak of 423 investors have to weigh potential fed moves along with the slew of fourth quarter earnings reports and 2023 outlooks from major businesses before the bell exxon mobil xom pfizer pfe caterpillar cat general motors gm and mcdonalds mcd reported earnings after tuesdays market close chip maker advanced micro devices inc amd snapchat parent company snap inc snap and video game maker electronic arts inc ea are some of the companies scheduled to release earnings meanwhile tuesdays us economic data calendar included the employment cost index which showed a 1 increase for the fourth quarter less than expected and a 51 increase for 2022 up from 50 slowing wage growth is a welcome sign that the economy may avoid the wageprice spiral that the fed feared most sinem buber lead economist at ziprecruiter said in an emailed statement the softening wage growth is on display in sectors fueled by consumer demand with wage growth slowing substantially in retail trade leisure and hospitality and professional and business services during last years second half according to buber in other data us home prices fell for a fifth straight month in november the sp corelogic caseshiller 20city price index showed tuesday while consumer confidence slipped in january the feds rate hikes in 2022 were successful at cooling an overheated economy as demonstrated by softer data on housing prices wages and consumer confidence at the turn of the year said bill adams chief economist for comerica bank in dallas texas the fed will welcome signs of a cooling economy but they want to see a wider margin of slack open up to be confident that the slower inflation in late 2022 becomes the trend in the near term the economy seems likely to soften further which would open up a path for the fed to pause rate hikes after one final hike in march and then begin to cut rates as early as september