Stocks give up gains despite USMCA trade deal confirmation

Stocks closed lower, giving up a modest rally, despite the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement winning final approval from lawmakers.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite finished the session little changed.

Still, the historic trade agreement is expected to create "north of 176,000 new jobs" and give a $34 billion boost to the U.S. auto industry, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, citing International Trade Commission data, told FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo on Tuesday. The confirmation of the deal drew wide applause from both sides of the aisle.

President Trump tweeted the deal is "Good for everybody - Farmers, Manufacturers, Energy, Unions - tremendous support. Importantly, we will finally end our Country’s worst Trade Deal, NAFTA!"

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday morning the deal is a "victory for American workers."

Trade-sensitive names rose, including AMD, Apple and Caterpillar.

Confirmation of USMCA helped ease concerns of the U.S. House of Representatives' two articles of impeachment against Trump. On the same day, House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., announced Trump has been charged with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. A House vote in favor of the articles would make Trump the fourth U.S. president to be impeached.

Boeing shares were under pressure after whistleblower Ed Pierson, a former senior manager at Boeing, agreed to testify before Congress on Wednesday that he warned the planemaker about flaws with the 737 Max, the grounded jetliner involved in two deadly crashes.

Looking at earnings, Autozone reported first-quarter sales that topped expectations, thanks to strength in its retail and commercial businesses. Shares hit a fresh record.

Stich Fix reported better-than-expected top- and bottom-line results and forecast second-quarter adjusted earnings would be higher than expectations. Dave & Buster's Entertainment and GameStop will report after the closing bell.

U.S. Treasurys were little changed, with the yield on the 10-year note holding near 1.825 percent, as the Federal Reserve kicked off its two-day policy meeting. The central bank is expected to hold its key interest rate in a range between 1.5 percent and 1.75 percent at the conclusion of the session on Wednesday.

On the commodities front, gold was higher and West Texas Intermediate crude oil also rose to more than $59 per barrel.

In Europe, Britain's FTSE was down 0.3 percent, Germany's DAX fell 0.7 percent and France's CAC was lower by 0.1 percent.

A meeting of the European Central Bank on Thursday also is expected to produce no surprises. Forecasters expect the bank to affirm commitment to its dovish bias amid warnings about European economic weakness and risks to growth.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS

British leaders are looking to Thursday's election for 650 seats in the House of Commons to break an impasse over leaving the European Union and London's future relationship with the trade bloc.

Overnight, Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.2 percent and China's Shanghai Composite added 0.1 percent.

FOX Business' Ken Martin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.