Stocks were relatively unchanged on Tuesday as investors absorbed the latest inflation reading and studied the first earnings reports trickling in for the fourth quarter.

The S&P 500 ticked 0.1% higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 35 points. The Nasdaq Composite hovered around the flatline.

AGQ up 7%; L3Harris, Intel and AMD up 5%; PDD down 6%; Delta Air lines down 2%

Stock futures initially received a boost after the December consumer price index report showed that core CPI — excluding food and energy — rose 0.2% on the month and 2.6% on the year, below the 0.3% and 2.8%, respectively, that economists polled by Dow Jones had estimated.

The monthly figure for headline inflation increased 0.3% in December, putting the annual rate at 2.7%. Both figures matched Dow Jones forecasts.

The CPI data came days after the December jobs report showed a somewhat weaker, yet stable, labor market, likely encouraging the Fed to hold off on interest rate cuts at their first meeting of the year later this month. Fed funds futures are pricing in two quarter point cuts this year, starting in June, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

“Today’s data probably won’t have much influence on Fed policy given the coming change in leadership. But it keeps expectations on track for lower rates and likely supports risk appetite,” said David Russell, global head of market strategy at TradeStation.

Investors are also looking to corporate profits to buoy stock prices as fourth-quarter earnings reports kick off. JPMorgan Chase seesawed between gains and losses, even after the largest bank in the nation posted better-than-expected results in the December quarter. Delta Air Lines, however, shed more than 4% on mixed results.

Bank of America, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley are due to report later this week.

Hank Smith, head of investment strategy at Haverford Trust, expects bank earnings to come out strong. Major banks should benefit from tailwinds such as accelerating economic growth, deregulation and strong lending with a steeper yield curve adding to profitability, he said.

Wall Street is coming off a record setting session, when the S&P 500 and Dow Industrials both hit all-time closing highs as investors looked past news of the Department of Justice’s criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The Russell 2000 index of small company shares also reached an all-time high.