Dow Jones Industrial Average treads water as stocks await meaningful news

• The Dow Jones stuck close to the middle on Tuesday, holding above 45,000.
• US Durable Goods Orders hit markets without so much as a splash.
• The latest round of key US inflation data looms large later this week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) spun a tight circle on Tuesday, holding steady near familiar levels as investors await meaningful data or news headlines to get the machine chugging again. Global markets are bracing for the latest round of US Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE) inflation due later this week. Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate cut expectations will hinge on whether the Fed will continue to focus more on slumping jobs data.

Trump attempts to fire Fed officials

US President Donald Trump attempted to declare Fed Board of Governors member Dr. Lisa Cook "fired" on Monday evening, and investors are watching from the sidelines to see how things progress. Donald Trump's claim of being able to fire Fed members for cause under a century-old amendment, and whether that cause applies to faulty tax filings, are bound to face a steep legal battle moving forward.

Devil's in the details

US Durable Goods Orders declined in July, printing at -2.8%, but the figure still represents a larger rebound from the previous month's -9.4% than analysts expected. The US Census Bureau noted that, excluding transportation, new orders actually rose by 1.1%. However, excluding defense spending, new orders still decreased by 2.5%. The key missed datapoint in Tuesday's Durable Goods Orders data was investment in transportation equipment, which declined 9.7%, extending into a third monthly decline over a four-month period.

Dow Jones daily chart