US stocks slip from records as investors prep for Fed meeting and mega-cap tech earnings

• US stocks slipped from record highs on Tuesday.
• Investors are eyeing the upcoming Fed meeting as well as earnings from Apple, Microsoft, and Alphabet.
• Bitcoin slipped, gold rose, while oil prices were mixed.

US stocks slipped from record highs on Tuesday as investors prepare for the upcoming Federal Reserve's two-day meeting and await earnings reports from mega-cap tech giants. Stocks were also dragged by a slump in Chinese shares amid an ongoing clampdown on key industry sectors.

The Fed meeting, taking place Tuesday and Wednesday, will shed light on the central bank's outlook on domestic and global economic recovery and will give markets a glimpse of the central bank's plan to begin tapering asset purchases or start raising rates.

Meanwhile, the Big Tech companies scheduled to report results on Tuesday include Apple, Microsoft, and Alphabet. More than one-third of the S&P 500 companies are expected to post earnings this week, with Facebook due on Wednesday.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Tuesday:

• S&P 500: 4,406.15, down 0.37%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 34,969.94, down 0.5% (174.37 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 14,802.34, down 0.27%

US stocks in recent weeks have climbed mostly higher as investors cheered robust corporate earnings and the accelerating pace of global economic recovery. The Delta variant, however, on top of inflationary concerns, continues to dampen the positive sentiment.

"Any 'hot readings' of incoming economic data and inflationary signals are tempered by the macro risks posed by the Delta variant, and future mutations of COVID-19," Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat, said in a Tuesday note. "Therefore, we think the probabilities favor the Fed erring on the side of accommodation/dovishness."

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin reversed its rally to drop below $38,000 after Amazon quashed speculation about accepting cryptocurrency payments.

The world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization last week saw a third consecutive week of outflows, according to data from Coinshares. Ether also saw investors pull money for the first time in four weeks, as the cryptocurrency market came under intense pressure.

Oil prices were mixed. The West Texas Intermediate crude was down 0.17%, to $71.79 while Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, rose 0.11% to $74.58 a barrel.

Gold rose 0.36%, to 41,804.32 per ounce.