U.S. stocks trade in narrow band and close flat 

(MENAFN - ProactiveInvestors - Australia) Action on the U.S. markets was lacklustre overnight, with the major indices trading in a very tight band.

By the close the Dow Jones had added a dozen points (0.09%) to 13,565, while the NASDAQ shed a solitary point (-0.03%) to 3178.

Investors are still absorbing the QE3 news to a certain extent, while also keeping a close eye on Europe.

Spain successfully completed a short-term bond auction - the first since the European Central Bank announced its new bond buying program.

While yields came in lower than prior auctions, Spanish yields have still risen over the last week as Madrid has resisted seeking help from the eurozone rescue funds. The yield on Spain's 10-year government bond moved lower Tuesday.

Also in Europe, Germany released its ZEW economic survey today, with the reading improving from a negative 25.5 in August to a negative 18.2 in September. The level was higher than expected.


U.S. Corporate News

In corporate news, FedEx cut its fiscal 2013 outlook, citing weakness in the global economy, sending shares down 2.28%. It issued sharply lower full year earnings per share guidance of between 6.20 to 6.60 per share - down from 6.90 to 7.40 per share previously. Shares were down more than 2.5% late afternoon.

Shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) touched the 700 mark for the first time in its history as a publically traded company, one day after saying it had sold out of pre-orders for its new iPhone 5. In early morning trade, Apple's stock hit 700.91 on the Nasdaq. It was lately trading at 698.93 apiece.

Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD) saw its shares decline over 9% Tuesday, a day after it said Thomas Seifert resigned as senior vice president and chief financial officer to pursue other opportunities.


U.S. Economic News

On the economic front, the Commerce Department released second-quarter data on the nation's current trade deficit, which fell from 133 billion to 117 billion. That was followed by a Treasury Department report that showed foreign investors bought 73.7 billion of U.S. securities in July.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index gained 3 points to a seasonally adjusted reading of 40, the highest the index has been since June 2006.

Meanwhile, Chicago president Charles Evans provided his "Perspectives on Current Economic Issues" Tuesday, saying that the Federal Reserve needed to launch another round of asset purchases given the problems facing the economy and the potential dangers lying ahead.

"It is essential to do as much as we can now to bolster the resiliency and vibrancy of the economy," he said in a speech in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

New York president William Dudley speaks twice today on regional and national economic conditions, first at 12:45 p.m. ET and then at 4:30 p.m. ET.

In the first slot, he said The Federal Reserve will "stay the course" of its monetary policy until the economy is clearly rolling, and emphasized that the benefits of QE3 "substantially" exceed the costs.

"If you're trying to get a car moving that is stuck in the mud, you don't stop pushing the moment the wheels start turning - you keep pushing until the car is rolling and is clearly free," he said in a speech to the Morris County Chamber of Commerce in Florham Park, N.J.

He further said the program could, if successful, lead to an increase in long-term Treasury yields, as well as to a rise in expected returns on private assets.