Stocks were flat on Tuesday as investors took a breather following solid gains in the previous session.
The Dow Jones Industrials dipped 12.43 points in Tuesday's first hour of trade to 25,870.82, as losses in J.P. Morgan Chase offset a gain in WalMart.
The S&P 500 notched forward 1.58 points to 2,777.18
The NASDAQ Composite gained 9.48 points to 7,481.89
WalMart shares rose more than 3% after the company reported better-than-expected earnings. The retailer also said e-commerce sales grew by 43% in the previous quarter.
Talks between the U.S. and China are set to continue this week in Washington. Both countries have until early March to come up with a deal. Otherwise, additional U.S. tariffs on Chinese products could take effect. President Donald Trump indicated recently, however, he would be willing to push back the deadline.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained a bit, lowering yields to 2.65% from Friday's 2.66%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gathered 29 cents to $55.88 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices strengthened $16.00 to $1,338.10 U.S. an ounce.