The benchmark S&P 500 stock index has remained flat, taking a breather from Monday's quarterly rally as economic data did little to ease growth concerns.
Walgreens shares slumped 12.8 per cent after the chain cut its 2019 profit growth forecast and reported a quarterly profit that missed estimates. The S&P 500 consumer staples index, which includes Walgreens, dropped 0.8 per cent.
Walgreens shares weighed the most on all three of Wall Street's major indexes but the Nasdaq moved higher as shares of Facebook jumped 3.3 per cent.
Data showing new orders for key US-made capital goods slipped in February and that shipments were flat did little to lift tepid investor sentiment.
Orders for non-defence capital goods excluding aircraft, or core capital goods orders, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, fell 0.1 per cent.
The data comes on the heels of a survey showing a surprise rebound in China's manufacturing activity and better-than-expected US numbers, which drove the S&P 500 to near six-month highs on Monday.
"We're still seeing mixed signals in terms of economic data," Emily Roland, head of capital markets research at John Hancock Investments in Boston, said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 79.29 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 26,179.13, the S&P 500 gained 0.05 points to 2,867.24, and the Nasdaq Composite added 19.78 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 7,848.69.
Despite coming under pressure, the S&P 500 is only 2.2 per cent below a record closing high hit in late September.
Yet with the first-quarter corporate earnings reporting season two weeks away, investors are bracing for what may be the first US profit decline since 2016.
Airline stocks got a lift from Delta Air Lines Inc's better-than-expected first-quarter profit forecast, with its shares jumping six per cent.
