The S&P 500 fell for a third consecutive session on Tuesday.

The broader market index slid 0.28% to close at 5,203.58, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.42%, finishing at 16,315.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down by 31.31 points, or 0.08%, to settle at 39,282.33. The day's action marked a cooling from last week, when all three indexes closed at a record Thursday and the Dow approached the 40,000 level.

A varied group of stocks that moved higher on Tuesday included Tesla, which gained nearly 3% in a turnaround for the electric vehicle manufacturer that has so far floundered this year. Shares of Seagate Technology rose about 7.4% after an upgrade to overweight at Morgan Stanley on optimism over artificial intelligence. Krispy Kreme rallied 39% after the doughnut retailer announced it would expand its partnership with McDonald's.

"The market's broadening out, it's bringing in more of those cyclical sectors and that's underpinned by the data that's coming in that suggests the economy is still in good shape but that inflation is still positive and still above target," said Tom Hainlin, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Asset Management.

Economic data out Tuesday was mixed, showing stronger-than-expected orders for durable goods, but waning consumer confidence.

It should be a relatively quiet shortened week to wrap up the month, said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird. Investors are largely lying in wait before the release of the latest personal consumption expenditure and labor market openings readings.

The major averages are on pace for their fifth straight winning month. The broad market index is up more than 2% in March. The Nasdaq Composite is toting a 1.4% advance for the period, while the Dow is up 0.7%.

The S&P 500 closes lower for third consecutive session

The S&P 500 closed lower for its third session in a row on Tuesday.

The broader market index slid 0.28% to settle at 5,203.58, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.42%, closing at 16,315.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 31.31 points, or 0.08%, to finish at 39,282.33.

— Lisa Kailai Han

2025 earnings look more positive than 2024 for now, Strategas says

Further optimism for the market might come in the form of growing earnings estimates, according to Strategas.

Earnings are currently continuing to "muddle sideways" as investors await for the next season to begin, with consensus expecting earnings to grow 10.7% this year. On the other hand, investors are predicting this growth in 2025 will reach 13.3%, a positive sign for the market.

"We are viewing the acceleration of growth expected next year a positive for market fundamentals at the moment," Strategas wrote.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Oil prices slip as traders assess Ukraine drone strike impact

Crude oil futures slipped Tuesday as traders assessed the effect of the wars in Eastern Europe and the Middle East on the supply picture.

The West Texas Intermediate contract for May fell 33 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $81.62 a barrel. The Brent contract for May lost 50 cents, or 0.58%, to settle at $86.25 a barrel.

Ukraine has escalated its drone strikes against Russian oil refineries, knocking an estimated 900,000 barrels per day of capacity offline, according to Goldman Sachs. The outages could take weeks to repair and, in some cases, there may be a permanent loss of capacity, the investment bank said.

The disruptions' effect on crude prices will likely be mixed, with a decline in refinery demand bearish and a potential reduction in Russian oil exports bullish, Goldman noted.

— Spencer Kimball

Earnings growth, AI investment 'explosion' remain supportive of market rally, UBS says

Fourth-quarter earnings growth and an ongoing rush into artificial intelligence-related stocks continue to support the rally in equities, according to UBS.

"Although some sentiment and positioning indicators suggest a modest pullback in the coming months, we continue to believe that the four key equity market drivers remain largely in place: 1) solid growth, 2) disinflation, 3) Fed pivot, and 4) explosion in AI investment," the firm said in a Monday note.

While recent inflation data could suggest higher-for-longer rates, UBS believes labor market trends will lead central bankers to likely begin the rate-cutting campaign in the middle of this year. Aside from rate cuts, the firm noted better-than-expected quarterly earnings and largely in-line first-quarter guidance are supportive of equity growth, as well as a broadening out in earnings growth expectations from more companies than just the "Magnificent Seven."

UBS named industrials, health care and tech as its most preferred sectors against this market backdrop.

— Pia Singh

Corporate buybacks are offsetting selling elsewhere, BofA says

Corporate buybacks are one of the few sources of buying in the equity market, at least among Bank of America clients.

Equity and quant strategist Jill Carey Hall said in a note to clients Tuesday that corporate buybacks are at multiyear highs and helping to keep the market from backsliding too far from record highs.

"Stocks saw inflows across all three size segments(small/mid/large). But excluding corporate clients — where flows are always positive — clients were net sellers of US equities last week — private clients for the 7th consecutive week, hedge funds for the third, and institutional clients for the first time in six weeks," the note said.

At a sector level, financials and consumer discretionary saw the biggest selling among Bank of America clients last week.

— Jesse Pound

Markets stuck between 'Goldilocks' and 'reflation flirtation,' says Goldman

Current investor optimism in equities has been driven largely due to enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence, which has created a concentrated market, according to Goldman Sachs. However, while earnings have broadly been strong, cyclical sectors of the market have not yet revised upward.

"Over the near term, markets are likely to continue to oscillate between 'Goldilocks' and 'Reflation flirtation' — while we do expect some rates relief, it is unusual to have rates resetting materially lower as the ISM rebounds and rates moves matter for some pockets," strategist Cecilia Mariotti wrote in a Tuesday note.

Mariotti added that the pro-cyclical areas of the market have historically needed rates relief to outperform the broader market.

— Hakyung Kim

Commercial real estate market could benefit from a more stable Federal Reserve not rushing to cut rates, Piper Sandler says

The commercial real estate market could find stable footing heading into first-quarter earnings results this year due to a still strong economy and a steadfast central bank, according to Piper Sandler senior research analyst Alexander Goldfarb.

"We expect a better tone on 1Q24 earnings calls given enduring economic health and general appreciation the Fed won't rush to cut rates, which means real estate can finally underwrite a stable backdrop to get on with life," Goldfarb wrote Monday.

The analyst added he remains partial toward "sectors that can either pass through expenses and/or offset with stronger rent growth, like industrial and retail."

— Brian Evans

Fewer rate cuts should benefit large-cap stocks, says Goldman's Kostin

The markets have already priced in an expectation of three interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year, according to Goldman Sachs chief U.S. equity strategist David Kostin. In the case that the Fed reduces rates less than expected, that should benefit large-cap stocks, Kostin told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Tuesday.

"To the extent that there are fewer cuts — Goldman Sachs economists expect three — if there [are] two, then that would be more supportive of larger caps, better balance sheets. The megacap stocks continue to do better," Kostin said.

— Hakyung Kim

JPMorgan says 'all roads in AI' lead to this semiconductor stock

JPMorgan says "all roads in AI semis lead" to this supplier to major chip firms such as Nvidia.

The company "remains one of the cheapest large-cap semi stocks globally, still trading at a ~30% discount to the SOX index and a ~51% discount to the large-cap AI semis basket (Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, Marvell)," wrote analyst Gokul Hariharan in a Monday note.

Read more on the stock dubbed a "key AI enabler" here.

— Samantha Subin

Walt Disney stock reaches new 52-week high

Shares of Walt Disney climbed out of a recent downturn back to a 52-week high during Tuesday's trading session.

The stock was last trading slightly down, after earlier rising nearly 0.4%. Shares have risen 31% so far this year.

This move comes during a highly public and acrimonious fight between Disney CEO Bob Iger and activist investor Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Moody's reviewing Boeing's credit ratings for downgrade

Moody's Ratings placed Boeing's Baa2 senior unsecured rating and Prime-2 short-term rating on review for a potential downgrade. Previously, the rating outlook was stable.

The downgrade review implies Moody's lack of confidence in Boeing's ability to deliver sufficient volumes of its 737 model to expand its free cash flow.

Shares of Boeing fell 1.2% Tuesday.

— Hakyung Kim

Reddit pops 15%, builds on IPO gains

Reddit shares popped another 15% on Tuesday as investors scooped up shares of the social media stock following its blockbuster debut on the New York Stock Exchange last week.

The stock surged 48% in its first day of trading, closing above its opening price of $47 a share. Reddit had priced its initial public offering on Wednesday at $34 a share.

Shares jumped 30% during Monday's session.

— Samantha Subin

These are the stocks making the biggest moves during midday trading

Here are some of the stocks on the move during midday trading.

• Krispy Kreme — Krispy Kreme popped nearly 30% and headed for its best day on record. McDonald's plans to sell the company's doughnuts at its restaurants nationwide by the end of 2026.
• Trump Media & Technology Group — Shares of former President Donald Trump's social media company surged 35% after it began trading on the Nasdaq.
• McCormick — The stock jumped 10% after the spice maker topped earnings and revenue expectations for its fiscal first quarter.

Read the full list of stocks moving here.

— Samantha Subin

28 stocks in the S&P 500 hit new 52-week highs

As the major indexes rallied on Tuesday, 28 stocks in the S&P 500 hit new 52-week highs.

Of these names, 15 companies hit new all-time highs. Here are some of the stocks that reached this milestone:

• Diamondback Energy trading at all-time highs back to its initial public offering in October 2012
• Cigna trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in 1972
• Micron trading at all-time highs back to is IPO in June 1984
• Constellation Energy trading at all-time high levels back to its spinoff from Exelon in January 2022
• Hilton Worldwide trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in December 2013
• Lennar trading at all-time high levels back to when it began trading in 1971
• Allstate trading at all-time highs levels back to its IPO in 1993, originally the insurance subsidiary of Sears, Roebuck and Co.

— Lisa Kailai Han, Christopher Hayes

Shares of UPS fall after delivery company lays out long-term targets

UPS has given up its initial gains on Tuesday and is now down about 3.5% as Wall Street digests the new long-range guidance for the delivery company.

UPS announced long-term financial targets Tuesday morning, calling for consolidated revenues of between $108 billion and $114 billion in 2026. This comes after the company saw its revenue shrink to $91 billion in 2023.

Deutsche Bank analyst Amit Mehrotra, who has a buy rating on UPS, called the targets "bold," but did express some skepticism.

"The company is also forecasting a continued oversupply of parcel capacity, which raises some questions around its expected spread between revenue per piece and cost per piece," Mehrotra said in a note to clients.

Morgan Stanley analyst Ravi Shanker, who has an underweight rating on the stock, also pointed out the oversupply dynamic and said investors may want more cost cutting.

"The market may also be somewhat disappointed by the $3bn cost savings number since it comes by 2028 rather than 2026," Shanker said in a note to clients.

— Jesse Pound, Michael Bloom

McCormick poised for best day in 4 years

McCormick shares headed for their biggest one-day gain in about four years after the spice and seasoning maker exceeded Wall Street's earnings expectations.

Shares rose 9.9% in late Tuesday morning trading. If that holds through market close, it will mark the best day for the stock since March 2020.

McCormick's rally comes on the back of a stronger-than-expected financial report for the fiscal first quarter. The Maryland-based company posted 63 cents in earnings per share, excluding items, on $1.6 billion in revenue, while analysts polled by FactSet forecast 58 cents in earnings per share and $1.55 billion in revenue.

For the full year, the company reaffirmed guidance for earnings per share, revenue and operating income.

With Tuesday's advance, the stock is up nearly 12% in 2024. That marks a reprieve after losing more than 14% and 17% in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

— Alex Harring

April is typically strong for market, data shows

April has historically been a solid month for market returns, according to Carson Group data.

In fact, it has been the second-best month of the year for the S&P 500 when averaging performance going back to 1950.

But in recent decades, performance has been somewhat more muted. It is the third-best month when looking at just the past 20 years. April slides to the fourth spot when evaluating the past 10 years exclusively.

When averaging just past presidential election years, April has provided the fourth-strongest monthly performance for the S&P 500.

— Alex Harring

Trump Media stock jumps nearly 40% on DJT ticker debut

Trump Media & Technology Group, Donald Trump's social media company, soared 38% higher on Tuesday at roughly $68 per share.

Earlier Tuesday, the stock had jumped 50% in the first minutes of its Nasdaq public debut, leading trading to briefly halt due to volatility before it resumed around 9:40 a.m. ET.

Trump Media's merger with shell company Digital World Acquisition Corp. was completed Monday, allowing it to become publicly traded under the ticker DJT. The merger added nearly $4 billion in paper profits to Trump's net worth. The company's closing price Monday was just under $50 per share.

For more on the stock's debut, read here.

— Pia Singh, Dan Mangan

March's consumer sentiment comes below consensus

March's consumer confidence index came in below what economists had predicted, showing consumers' waning optimism in the U.S. economy.

This month, U.S. consumer confidence came out to 104.7, lower than the 107 consensus, according to StreetAccount.

"Consumers' assessment of the present situation improved in March, but they also became more pessimistic about the future," said Dana M. Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board. "Confidence rose among consumers aged 55 and over but deteriorated for those under 55. Separately, consumers in the $50,000 to $99,999 income group reported lower confidence in March, while confidence improved slightly in all other income groups."

Peterson noted, however, that there has been no real trend to the upside or downside either by age group or income for confidence in the past six months.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Stocks open higher

Stocks rose to begin the session Tuesday morning.

The S&P 500 added 0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 52 points, or 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite inched 0.4% higher.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Krispy Kreme stock soars 18% during premarket trading following McDonald's partnership expansion announcement

Shares of Krispy Kreme rose 18% before Tuesday's opening bell, following an announcement that the donut franchise would be expanding its partnership with McDonald's this year.

By the end of 2026, McDonald's plans to sell Krispy Kreme donuts in all of its nationwide restaurants. The rollout begins in the latter half of 2024, but it will take Krispy Kreme the estimated two years to increase its distribution network.

As of Dec. 31, Krispy Kreme delivered donuts to 6,800 third-party stores. There are approximately 13,500 existing McDonald's restaurants in the U.S., and the fast-food chain plans to open another 900 locations by 2027.

— Lisa Kailai Han

February's durable goods orders rose higher than consensus

Orders for long-lasting goods in the U.S. rose 1.4% in February, higher than the 0.8% economists had predicted, according to StreetAccount.

Last month's core orders, which exclude aircraft, rose at 0.7%, also higher than the 0.5% that had been anticipated.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Stocks making the biggest moves in premarket trading

These are some of the biggest stock movers in premarket trading.

• Krispy Kreme — Shares surged nearly 14% during premarket after the company said it will sell its donuts in McDonald's restaurants nationwide by the end of 2026. McDonald's shares fell more than 1%.
• Seagate Technology — The data storage stock added 4.1% on the back of a Morgan Stanley upgrade to overweight from equal weight.
• McCormick— Shares moved nearly 4% higher after the spice maker reported an earnings and revenue beat.

For more big movers, check out our full list here.

— Tanaya Macheel

Cocoa prices cross $10,000 per metric ton in historical rally

Cocoa prices hit a record level on Tuesday, crossing above $10,000 per metric ton for the first time in history.

Dry weather conditions, wildfires and an onslaught of the cacao swollen shoot virus have all propelled the commodity to unprecedented levels. Year to date, cocoa prices have soared nearly 139%.

— Lisa Kailai Han

The equity market's liquidity tailwind is reversing, Strategas says

While liquidity has been a big tailwind for the equity market as of late, investors could soon see this trend reversing, according to Strategas.

"The U.S. is about to enter a temporary liquidity and fiscal squeeze, which can impact the U.S. dollar, bond yields, and liquidity-sensitive stocks," the firm wrote. "Liquidity has served as a useful cushion to the US economy with Yellen's stealth QE overpowering the Fed's QT by $433bn since October 2022. About half of this liquidity gain has occurred in the past five months. Yet, we expect this tailwind to become a headwind through April."

Analyst Daniel Clifton attributed this squeeze to several factors including the upcoming tax season, the end of the Bank Term Funding Program and increased tax payments for capital gains this April.

"Fortunately, we believe this headwind will be temporary," he added. "Policymakers have the tools available to them to keep liquidity flowing into the election, post-April tax season. We see this process already in motion. The Fed has indicated the central bank will cut rates and slow QT this year."

— Lisa Kailai Han

Europe stocks open lower

Europe's Stoxx 600 index was 0.15% lower at 8:10 a.m. in London as last week's positive momentum stalls.

Bourses were mixed, with France's CAC 40 index up 0.05%, Germany's DAX trading flat and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 down 0.3%.

— Jenni Reid

Singapore's February manufacturing output surpasses expectations by a wide margin

Manufacturing in Singapore surged 14.2% in February on a month-on-month basis, a sharp reversal from the revised 6.7% decline in January and far surpassing Reuters' expectations of a 3.1% rise.

On a year-on-year basis, manufacturing output was up 3.8%, also beating the 0.5% rise expected in the Reuters poll.

Singapore's economic development board said that all clusters of the country's manufacturing sector expanded in February, except for the general manufacturing and precision engineering sector.

— Lim Hui Jie

Sri Lanka's central bank cuts interest rates in a surprise move

Sri Lanka's central bank cut its main lending rates on Tuesday, according to its monetary policy statement.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka cut its Standing Deposit Facility Rate to 8.50% and the Standing Lending Facility Rate to 9.50%, a 50-basis-point cut to each. It maintained its inflation target at 5%, over the medium term.

The central bank said it expects its easing measures to pass through swiftly into the economy "by the financial institutions, thereby accelerating the normalization of market interest rates in the period ahead."

Reuters said 11 out of 16 economists and analysts it had polled expected rates to be left unchanged.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Japan services PPI climbs 2.1% in February

Japan's services producer price index climbed 2.1% year over year in February, according to official data.

The services PPI had risen at the same rate in January as well.

The Bank of Japan ended its experiment with negative rates last week, along with other unconventional easing tools that were aimed at reflating its economy.

Markets in Japan traded higher on Tuesday, with the Nikkei 225 index trading well about the 40,000 level. The broader Topix index was up 0.08%.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

South Korea's Kospi hits two-year high as chip stocks rise

South Korea's Kospi hit its highest level in over two years on Tuesday as major chip stocks rose.

The index shot to 2,769, its highest level since Feb. 10, 2022.

The Kospi has posted a 15% gain over the past 12 months, and a 4.93% climb since the start of 2024.

The index was powered by gains in heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which rose 1.66% and 3.25%, respectively.

— Lim Hui Jie

New York Stock Exchange prepares to delist shares of EV maker Fisker

The New York Stock Exchange notified troubled electric vehicle manufacturer Fisker that it will suspend trading in the stock and begin proceedings to delist the company.

NYSE Regulation pointed to Fisker's "abnormally low" trading price as a factor in its decision, the company said in a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Shares were halted earlier on Monday, and at the time, they were valued at about 9 cents apiece.

News of the upcoming delisting arrives after talks over a potential deal between Fisker and an unnamed large automaker collapsed.

The stock has slid about 95% in 2024, and it is off more than 98% in the past year.

— Darla Mercado

Investors are staying in cyclical sectors despite risk of market pullback, strategist says

The market soared to new highs last week, following the March Federal Open Market Committee meeting. But Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research, believes a sell-off could be on the horizon for equities.

"We're coming off of a post-FOMC high," he told CNBC in a Monday interview. "The market is getting more and more vulnerable to a market decline or a pullback in prices."

Still, investors remain in more cyclical sectors, with Stovall seeing an improvement in activity in the energy, industrials and materials categories.

"They are continuing to say that the market will likely benefit from lower interest rates and see its effect on the more cyclical sectors," he remarked. "I don't see investors taking a very defensive position at this point. Instead of going into staples, health care and utilities, they're likely to continue to gravitate towards materials, industrials and energy."

— Lisa Kailai Han

Stock futures open flat

U.S. stock futures were little changed Monday night.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose just 18 points, or 0.05%. Futures tied to both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 inched 0.1% higher.

— Hakyung Kim