Sawt Falasteen - Stock markets little changed as Wall Street ponders next step

Markets were also on hold ahead of US inflation data later this week that could offer a better sense of when the Federal Reserve may start cutting interest rates.

"The question now is how much further US equities can rally from here?" asked David Morrison, Senior Market Analyst at Trade Nation.

"Those urging caution point out the rally is being driven by a relatively small number of large corporations which makes the market particularly vulnerable to a shift in sentiment. Bullish investors will point to the utter lack of a pullback since the end of October as evidence of the market’s strength."

The Dow Jones Industrial average opened marginally lower, the wider S&P 500 was little changed, and the tech-heavy NASDAQ was up slightly.

Following Wall Street's modest dip Monday, Tuesday's "upside bias is related to a buy-the-dip mentality that has paid off for market participants recently," said analysts at Briefing.com.

Home improvement retailer Lowe's and iconic department store Macy's were both lower after reporting disappointing earnings. Macy's in addition said it plans to close around 150 locations by 2026 to concentrate on its more upscale brands.

US durable orders fell more than expected in January, which Briefing.com said "sends a poor signal about the state of business spending."

Investors are more interested in the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation -- the US Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index -- which is due for release Thursday.

Expectations on when the Fed may start lowering rates have gradually shifted to the second half of the year as policymakers await more signs that the pace of inflation was edging back towards the US central bank's two-percent target.

Data out of Germany Tuesday showed shoppers heading into March feeling slightly more optimistic about their future income, but consumer morale remains low overall as a downturn in Europe's largest economy drags on.

Frankfurt's market was up 0.4 percent, while elsewhere in Europe, London was slightly lower and Paris slightly higher.

"European markets remain in thrall to US equities, in particular big tech and everything directly, or even remotely, connected with generative AI," said Trade Nation's Morrison.

- Key figures around 1440 GMT -

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 38,974.83 points

New York - S&P 500: UP less than percent at 5,071.46

New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.3 percent at 16,021.36

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,673.23 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 7,944.22

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 17,498.94

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.3 percent at 4,877.58

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 39,239.52 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.9 percent at 16,790.80 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.3 percent at 3,015.48 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0843 from $1.0853 on Monday

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 150.37 yen from 150.70 yen

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2675 from $1.2684

Euro/pound: UNCHANGED at 85.54 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $82.71 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $77.91 per barrel

W.AbuLaban--SF-PST