US stock indices rose slightly in choppy trade on signs of falling consumer confidence and amid uncertainities around President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs.
On Monday, Trump said that not all of his threatened levies would be imposed on April 2 and some countries might get breaks.
As of 10:30 AM Eastern time, the S&P 500 was 0.2 per cent higher, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.2 per cent higher.
A report on consumer confidence showed that pessimism among US households is worsening.
The Conference Board’s measure of consumer confidence fell 7.2 points to 92.9 in March.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.32 per cent from 4.34 per cent late on Monday.
The dollar index, which has strengthened on the tariff expectations and which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell 0.17 per cent to 104.12 after climbing to a three-week high of 104.46.
Gainers and losers
Trump Media & Technology stock jumped 8.8 per cent after the Truth Social-parent company said it had reached an agreement with Crypto.com to offer a suite of “America-First” investment funds.
Homebuilder KB Home shares fell 4.2 per cent after reporting weaker quarterly profit and revenue.
McCormick slipped 0.2 per cent following a weaker-than-expected profit report.
Tesla stock was drifting between modest gains and losses after electric vehicle maker reported grim sales figures from Europe.
CrowdStrike shares gained 4.5 per cent after brokerage BTIG raised its rating on the cybersecurity company to “buy” from “neutral”.
Bullion
Gold prices edged higher on Tuesday, on safe-haven demand amid uncertainty over Trump’s tariff plans for next week.
Spot gold was up 0.3 per cent at $3,021.39 an ounce at 11:24 a.m. ET (1524 GMT). US gold futures were up 0.4 per cent at $3,026.20.
Spot silver gained 1.8 per cent to $33.59 an ounce, platinum added 0.8 per cent to $980.80 and palladium added 1.1 per cent to $961.60.
Crude oil
Oil prices gained on Tuesday following President Trump’s threat to punish nations buying Venezuelan crude.
Brent crude futures were up 46 cents, or 0.6 per cent, at $73.46 a barrel by 1023 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 46 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to $69.57.
