NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks were almost flat early Tuesday as markets shrugged off the political drama surrounding former US president Donald Trump in a holiday-shortened trading week.

About 40 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down slightly at 33,594.68.

The broad-based S&P 500 edged up 0.1 percent to 4,129.78, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.2 percent to 12,212.50.

US stocks mostly rise as oil producers surge

The impending arraignment of Trump in a New York courtroom later in the day has dominated headlines, as he faces charges over hush money paid to a porn star ahead of the 2016 election that brought him to power.

Trump is the first sitting or former American president to be criminally indicted – a historic development that has propelled the United States into uncharted political waters.

After lackluster manufacturing data on Monday, markets will also digest a handful of other economic reports this week.

The biggest among them will be employment figures for the month of March, due to be released on Friday when markets will be closed for Good Friday.

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