Tuesday's afternoon trade: Wall Street dips

Wall Street stocks dipped on Tuesday as investors looked to economic data this week for direction after a rally that was driven primarily by central banks' stimulus policies. US stocks have rallied nearly 6 percent since the start of August, propelling the S&P 500 index to levels not seen in nearly five years as central banks in Europe and the United States acted to buttress flagging economies.
But analysts say that for the rally to continue economic data needs to improve. FedEx Corp cut its profit forecast for its fiscal year 2013, saying that a weakening world economy had prompted customers to shift toward lower-priced shipping. The shares fell 2.3 percent to $87.23 and the Dow Jones transportation average lost 1.2 percent. Apple Inc, which broke sales records with its new smartphone, set another all-time high for its stock of $701.44 a share before slipping 0.1 percent to $699.07. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 4.76 points, or 0.04 percent, to 13,557.86. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 2.86 points, or 0.20 percent, to 1,458.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 4.27 points, or 0.13 percent, to 3,174.40.