The United States stock markets closed flat on Tuesday, wherein the S&P 500 eked out a slim gain on Tuesday after strength in some big technology stocks countered disappointing quarterly reports from Johnson & Johnson and Goldman Sachs as first-quarter earnings season kicked into gear.

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On the contrary, the Dow and Nasdaq ended with fractional declines on the day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 10.55 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 33,976.63, the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 3.55 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 4,154.87 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) dropped 4.31 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 12,153.41.

J&J (JNJ.N) shares fell 2.8 per cent after the healthcare conglomerate cautioned investors over the lingering impact of inflation-driven costs this year. Goldman (GS.N) shares dropped 1.7 per cent after the Wall Street firm's profit fell 19 per cent as dealmaking and bond trading slumped.

The early quarterly results from S&P 500 companies come as investors have been bracing for a gloomy reporting season, fearing the economy may be on the cusp of a downturn.

S&P 500 company earnings are expected to have declined 4.8 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to Refinitiv IBES data as of Friday. Investors have zeroed in on bank results after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank last month set off concerns about potential systemic risks.

The S&P 500 is trading near two-month highs as investors await a deluge of earnings and assess the interest rate path ahead of an expected 25 basis point increase at the Federal Reserve's meeting early next month.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.01-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.29-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 28 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 66 new highs and 143 new lows.

About 9.8 billion shares changed hands in US exchanges, compared with the 10.7 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions.

With Reuters Inputs