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* Energy shares drop as oil prices slide
* Saudi to recover oil supplies sooner than expected -
sources
* Home Depot drops after Guggenheim downgrade
* Corning cuts forecast for display volumes; shares fall
* Dow off 0.08%, S&P up 0.07%, Nasdaq 0.08% higher
(Updates prices, adds details)
By Medha Singh
Sept 17 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on
Tuesday as investors moved to the sidelines ahead of the Federal
Reserve's two-day policy meeting, while the impact of weekend
attacks on Saudi Arabia's biggest oil refinery faded.
Equity markets took a hit on Monday as the attacks wiped out
half of Saudi Arabia's oil production, sending oil prices
soaring, while fuelling geopolitical tensions.
But President Donald Trump's statement that he does not want
war and a Reuters report that Saudi Arabia was close to
restoring 70% of the oil production lost calmed investor nerves.
The benchmark S&P 500 index .SPX recovered early losses to
rise slightly, with the so-called defensive consumer staples
.SPLRCS , utilities .SPLRCU and real estate .SPLRCR sectors
posting the biggest gains.
The energy index .SPNY tracked a drop in oil prices, after
recording its best one-day surge since January on Monday.
The U.S. central bank concludes its policy meeting on
Wednesday, with traders currently expecting a 63.5% chance of a
quarter percentage point cut from the Fed this week, down from
88.8% on Friday, according to CME's FedWatch.
"It's just typical trading on the vigil of a Fed meeting,"
said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital
Securities in New York.
"We haven't seen any panic from what happened over the
weekend. I think (the Fed) will stick with a quarter of a
percentage point cut even after the Saudi attack."
Banks .SPXBK , which tend to underperform in a lower
interest rate environment, fell 0.95% and were the biggest drag
on the S&P 500.
Since the last interest rate cut in July, U.S. economic data
has shown mixed signals about the domestic economy. While strong
retail sales and wage growth have bolstered consumer confidence,
a protracted U.S.-China trade war has weighed on manufacturing
and business sentiment.
Latest data showed U.S. manufacturing output increased more
than expected in August, rebounding from a drop in July, while
homebuilders' optimism grew unexpectedly brighter in September.
At 11:41 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 22.68 points, or 0.08%, at 27,054.14, the S&P 500
.SPX was up 1.95 points, or 0.07%, at 2,999.91. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was up 6.66 points, or 0.08%, at 8,160.21.
Among stocks, Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc CMG.N rose 3.3%
as it added a new steak dish to its menu in the United States
for the first time in three years. Home Depot Inc HD.N dropped 1.2% after Guggenheim
downgraded the home improvement chain's shares to "neutral" from
"buy".
Corning Inc GLW.N tumbled 8.2% as the Gorilla glass maker
cut its current-quarter display volume forecast. Kraft Heinz Co KHC.O slipped 3.7% after the packaged food
maker's second-largest investor, 3G Capital, sold over 25
million shares in open market at a discount.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.06-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.42-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 11 new 52-week highs and one new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 36 new highs and 13 new lows.