US stocks hold steady near record high as investors digest more earnings reports

• Stocks rose Tuesday following record highs for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite.
• Alphabet and Microsoft will join the lineup of corporate earnings reports.
• The Federal Reserve will start its two-day policy meeting.

US stocks hovered around record highs on Tuesday as Wall Street took in more corporate earnings reports that overall were exceeding expectations.

The S&P 500 wavered slightly after closing at a new record high Monday, while the Nasdaq Composite edged higher. Delivery company UPS was among the companies that turned in stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter.

Here's where US indexes stood at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday:

• S&P 500: 4,184.20, down 0.08%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,898.19, down 0.25% (83.38 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 14,145.58, up 0.02%

"The pace of earnings reports has picked up steam considerably, but the pace of earnings beats has remained strong so far. This morning, nearly 80% of companies reporting have topped EPS forecasts and more than 70% have topped revenue forecasts," said Bespoke Investment Group in a note Tuesday. "All in all, a strong showing."

Microsoft and Google's parent Alphabet will be in focus after the bell Tuesday with results from the tech heavyweights. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve will start its meeting that will conclude Wednesday with a policy statement.

Around the markets, UBS took a $744 million hit from the collapse of Archegos in the first quarter.

HSBC posted a 79% jump in profit for the first quarter.

Gold rose 0.1% to $1,782.47 per ounce. Long-dated US treasury yields rose, with the 10-year yield at 1.583%.

Oil prices rose. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.9% to $62.49 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, picked up 0.7% to $66.13 per barrel.

Bitcoin rose to $54,955.