U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed close near their all-time highs

U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed close near their all-time highs ahead of a highly anticipated meeting of the Federal Reserve.

The S&P 500 edged just barely higher Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped less than 0.1%, pulling slightly below the record high it set a day earlier. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%, driven by gains for Big Tech companies including Microsoft and Intel.

The mixed trading came as Wall Street continues to expect bigger-than-usual relief for the economy to arrive Wednesday through a cut to interest rates from the Fed. Treasury yields edged higher in the bond market.

On Tuesday:

The S&P 500 rose 1.49 points, or less than 0.1%, to 5,634.58.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 15.90 points, or less than 0.1%, to 41,606.18.

The Nasdaq composite rose 35.93 points, or 0.2%, to 17,628.06.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 16.31 points, or 0.7%, to 2,205.48.

For the week:

The S&P 500 is up 8.56 points, or 0.2%.

The Dow is up 212.40 points, or 0.5%.

The Nasdaq is down 55.92 points, or 0.3%.

The Russell 2000 is up 22.99 points, or 1.1%.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is up 864.75 points, or 18.1%.

The Dow is up 3,916.64 points, or 10.4%.

The Nasdaq is up 2,616.71 points, or 17.4%.

The Russell 2000 is up 178.40 points, or 8.8%.