March 25 (Reuters) - Wall Street's major indexes edged higher in choppy trading on Tuesday as investors assessed consumer sentiment data and anticipated a more flexible trade policy stance from the Trump administration next week.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday hinted at a potential reprieve, suggesting that not all proposed tariffs would be enforced by April 2, with certain countries possibly receiving exemptions.
The benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX), and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (.IXIC), soared to their highest levels in over two weeks, bolstered by robust performances from megacap stocks like Nvidia (NVDA.O), and Tesla (TSLA.O).
However, the lingering uncertainty over Trump's unpredictable tariff strategy continued to cast a shadow over market sentiment, positioning the S&P 500 for its first quarterly loss in six periods.
Adding a layer of concern, Moody's underscored a troubling trajectory for U.S. fiscal strength, projecting a sustained multiyear decline.
A report revealed, a dip in consumer confidence, with the index falling to 92.9 in March — the lowest since February 2021.
"There's a little bit of paralysis with market participants not knowing what to do because they don't know what policy is going to go into place," said Charles Ashley, portfolio manger at Catalyst Funds.
"We want to position ourselves to be insulated to the worst case scenario but at the same time we still look for opportunity."
Tesla shares slipped 0.4% after a substantial 12% rally from the previous day.
Despite a general rise in electric vehicle registrations across Europe, data for February revealed a year-on-year contraction in Tesla's market share, marking the second consecutive month of declining sales.
KB Home (KBH.N), fell 3.4% as the homebuilder cut its full-year 2025 revenue forecast.
At 11:49 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), rose 13.94 points, or 0.04%, to 42,598.70, the S&P 500 (.SPX), gained 7.66 points, or 0.13%, to 5,775.23 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), gained 58.85 points, or 0.32%, to 18,247.45.
Seven of the S&P 500 sectors gained, with communication services (.SPNY), up 1%, boosted by a 2.4% jump in Meta (META.O), opens new tab. On the other hand, utilities (.SPLRCU), led declines with a 1.6% fall.
Fed Governor Adriana Kugler said that the central bank's interest rate policy remains restrictive, but progress on bringing inflation back to the central bank's 2% target has slowed.
New York Fed President John Williams said firms and households are "experiencing heightened uncertainty" about what lies ahead for the economy.
Amongst a cascade of economic indicators set to drop this week, focus will be on the personal consumption expenditures price index.
The Fed's preferred inflation gauge is set to drop on Friday.
Among others, McCormick & Company (MKC.N), dropped 1% after the food processing company missed estimates on quarterly profit.
CrowdStrike (CRWD.O), gained 4.5% as brokerage BTIG raised its rating on the cybersecurity company to "buy" from "neutral".
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.25-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and declining issues outnumbered advances by a 1.31-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 11 new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 32 new highs and 104 new lows.
Reporting by Pranav Kashyap and Johann M Cherian in Bangalore; Additional reporting by Lisa Pauline Mattackal; Editing by Maju Samuel
