04:28 PM EDT, 04/30/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes closed lower Tuesday, as investors assessed the latest corporate earnings and economic data, while the Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy meeting got underway.

The Nasdaq Composite tumbled 2% to 15,657.8, while the S&P 500 fell 1.6% to 5,035.7. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.5% to 37,815.9. All sectors posted declines, led by energy and consumer discretionary.

In company news, GE HealthCare Technologies ( GEHC ) shares slumped 14%, the steepest decline on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, after the company's first-quarter financial results fell short of market expectations.

F5 (FFIV) was among the worst performers on the S&P 500, down 9.2%. The company late Monday reported fiscal second-quarter revenue that missed Wall Street's views.

Eli Lilly ( LLY ) lifted its full-year outlook on Tuesday after delivering higher first-quarter results on a yearly basis, boosted by sales of its Mounjaro diabetes drug and weight-loss drug Zepbound. The drugmaker's shares jumped 6%, the second-best performer on the S&P 500.

3M ( MMM ) was the top gainer on the Dow, up 4.7%, as the industrial conglomerate updated its full-year guidance to reflect the spinoff of its health care business after reporting stronger-than-expected results for the first quarter.

The US 10-year yield increased 7.2 basis points to 4.68% Tuesday, while the two-year rate advanced 6.8 basis points to 5.04%.

Markets are widely expecting policymakers to keep interest rates unchanged at 5.25% to 5.50% on Wednesday, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. That would mark a sixth straight pause. The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee tightened monetary policy from March 2022 through July 2023 to combat inflation.

"While (Fed Chair Jerome Powell) and several associates have been clear in their message of 'patience,' Fed officials have stopped short of addressing the threshold for re-engagement should inflation fail to improve, or worse, continue to reverse course in a meaningful and sustained manner," Stifel said in a Tuesday note.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 1.3% to $81.60 per barrel.

In economic news, US consumer confidence in April deteriorated to its lowest point since July 2022, the Conference Board said.

"Consumers became less positive about the current labor market situation and more concerned about future business conditions, job availability, and income," Conference Board Chief Economist Dana Peterson said.

Rents in the US fell for the eighth straight month in March, but were still hovering near the peak levels seen in August 2022, indicating a "resilient" market, Realtor.com said.

"There is some good news for renters, with prices falling in many parts of the country, especially outside expensive metro markets in the West and Northeast," Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale said.

Separately, S&P Global ( SPGI ) division S&P Dow Jones Indices said US home prices rose in February sequentially and annually amid gains in both the 10- and 20-city composites.

Gold slipped 2.3% to $2,303.10 per troy ounce, while silver slumped 4% to $26.55 per ounce.