The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 27.88 points, or 0.10 percent, to 27,881.72. The S&P 500 was down 3.44 points, or 0.11 percent, to 3,132.52. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 5.64 points, or 0.07 percent, to 8,616.18.
Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors closed lower, with real estate down 0.68 percent, leading the laggards. Both health care and energy climbed 0.15 percent, the best-performing groups.
Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee kicked off its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday.
Traders widely expect the central bank to hold interest rates steady at the conclusion of the meeting Wednesday after trimming rates for three straight times this year.
On the economic front, U.S. small-business owners' confidence advanced in November, posting its biggest month-over-month gain since May 2018, according to a report by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) on Tuesday.
The NFIB small business optimism index came in at 104.7 in November, up 2.3 points from the prior month, said the report.
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