Stocks are going nowhere
Near 9:33 a.m. ET, the Dow was down 17 points, the S&P 500 was unchanged, and the Nasdaq was up five points.
Stocks closed firmly higher on Monday. Here's how Accendo Markets wrapped the close in a note to clients on this morning: "US markets closed positive, echoing gains in Europe, with relief on a Greece deal, some welcome progress with Iran's nuclear agreement (watch oil) and despite attention reverting to the timeline on a US rate rise. Note the S&P 500 delivering its best 3-day advance this year with Technology and Consumer name benefiting most."
The economic data out today has not been great. Retail sales flopped in June. The advance estimate from the Census Bureau showed a 0.3% drop, and excluding autos, -0.1%.
And, the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index fell to 94.1 in June, missing forecasts.
"Taken together with the drop in the NFIB small business survey reported earlier, the numbers today paint a picture of an economy stuttering in June, likely under the weight of the rebound in gas prices and the drop in stock prices," wrote Pantheon Macroeconomics' Ian Shepherdson in a note to clients.
Crude oil prices fell 2% overnight but recovered much of the losses in the morning. Iran reached an agreement with several countries over its nuclear program. The deal also includes the lifting of sanctions that would pump Iranian exports into the already oversupplied market.
Barclays estimates that Iran could pump 200,000 more barrels per day in the fourth quarter.
Wells Fargo beat earnings by a penny, posting $1.04, but quarterly revenues of $21.3 billion missed expectations.
JPMorgan beat on the top and bottom lines, posting earnings of $1.54 per share on revenues of $24.3 billion.
Johnson & Johnson reported Q2 earnings per share of $1.71 (beating the consensus estimate of $1.67) and sales of $17.8 billion (versus $17.7 billion expected.) Sales dropped 8.8% overall, and in almost every division, again due to the strong dollar.