US stocks quiet on Tuesday, Trump's news conference awaited

Major US equity indices drifted lower during opening trade on Tuesday as investors remain focused on President-elect Donald Trump's first news conference on Wednesday. 

US equity market had been pushing to new record levels following Donald Trump's surprise victory in the US presidential election on expectations of aggressive fiscal policies that will stimulate economic growth. Hence, investors now await for further clarity on the promised policy changes, which has led to surging valuations. Hence, investors will also look forward to corporate earnings performance in order to justify record high levels for the indices. 

At the time of reporting, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down over 15-points to 19,872, while the broader S&P 500 Index was nearly unchanged from yesterday's closing at 2,268. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index traded at break-even point, near 5,535.

Given the kind of nervousness ahead of the news conference, should Donald Trump's comments reinforce market expectations, the US equity market could witness a fresh leg of bullish rally and DJIA could make a fresh attempt towards 20,000 psychologically important level.