The S&P 500 posted a narrow gain on Tuesday as investors digested cautious commentary from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on interest rates. Concerns remain over the direction of the economy amid U.S. tariffs and the possible escalation of a global trade war.

The S&P 500 added 0.03% to end at 6,068.50, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.36% to close at 19,643.86. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 123.24 points, or 0.28%, to 44,593.65.

Apple gained 2.2% after The Information reported that the company is partnering with Alibaba to develop artificial intelligence features for iPhone users in China, curbing the market's losses.

Powell earlier addressed the Senate Banking Committee and signaled the Fed does not need to move quickly to ease monetary policy.

"With our policy stance now significantly less restrictive than it had been and the economy remaining strong, we do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance," Powell said in his first of two appearances this week on Capitol Hill. The central bank leader called the economy "strong overall" with a "solid" labor market, and said inflation is easing but remains above the Fed's 2% goal.

Powell's testimony — which will be followed by his appearance before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday — comes at a volatile time in Washington with President Donald Trump favoring tariffs against U.S. trading partners and with mixed messages coming from the administration on its approach to the Fed.

Trump on Monday signed new tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to the U.S. The European Union responded by saying it would retaliate with levies of its own if the U.S. tacks on tariffs against products from the country bloc.

Investors are looking ahead to fresh inflation data in the form of the latest consumer price index report due out Wednesday, while the producer price index will go out on Thursday.

"I really think that the market is treading water, listening to Powell and waiting to see what tomorrow's CPI will bring," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. "I'm of the belief that investors are really going to push prices higher based on earnings growth, not expecting P/E multiple expansion," Stovall added.

"The only concern regarding earnings could be that some of this quarter's enthusiasm was the result of something being taken from next quarter's estimates," Stovall said. "The question we're going to have to see in the months ahead is, did we indeed see an acceleration of ordering ahead of the expected Trump tariffs, and that gave an artificial boost to the appearance of an improving economy?"

Stocks end Tuesday little changed

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended Monday's trading session 123.24 points higher, or 0.28%, to close at 44,593.65. The S&P 500 gained 0.03% to end at 6,068.50, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.36% lower to close at 19,643.86.

— Pia Singh

Bull market feels like it's in 'late innings,' says Fidelity's global macro director

The bull market is showing signs of slowing down, according to Fidelity director of global macro Jurrien Timmer.

"The trend remains up for U.S. equities, which leads me to conclude that this cyclical bull market remains in place at 28 months old," Timmer said in an X post on Tuesday. "Yet only 62% of stocks are above their 200-day moving average, and the chart below shows a series of negative divergences, the likes of which tend to happen in the more mature stages of bull markets. It feels like late innings to me," Timmer added.

— Pia Singh

Analysts are optimistic on Carvana ahead of earnings

Wells Fargo sees more room for Carvana to run ahead of its earnings report next week.

Analyst David Lantz hiked his price target on the car e-commerce platform by $35 to $310, reflecting a 15.8% upside over Monday's close. Lantz also has an overweight rating on the stock.

Lantz acknowledged the stock has seen strong year-to-date performance with a gain of just over 32%. Still, the analyst said he is "favorable" into earnings, adding that the potential for outside share gains "looks intact."

JPMorgan analyst Rajat Gupta also said he is optimistic on shares. He also has an overweight rating, with a price target of $350 that suggests the stock can rally 30.7%.

"In terms of setup for shares from here, despite material out-performance YTD and investor sentiment generally positive, we continue to see the risk-reward as attractive for a few reasons," Gupta said.

— Alex Harring

15 stocks in the S&P 500 trade at new 52-week lows

During Tuesday's trading session, 15 stocks in the S&P 500 were trading at new 52-week lows.

Tickers that hit this milestone included:

• BorgWarner trading at levels not seen since October 2022
• Constellation Brands trading at lows not seen since October 2020
• Biogen trading at lows not seen since January 2013
• Merck & Co. trading at lows not seen since September 2022
• Moderna trading at lows not seen since April 2020
• Zimmer Biomet trading at lows not seen since April 2020
• Textron trading at lows not seen since July 2023
• Ball Corp. trading at lows not seen since November 2023

On the other hand, 12 stocks traded at their 52-week highs, including:

• AT&T trading at levels not seen since May 2021
• Yum Brands trading at all-time highs back to its initial public offering in September 1997
• Costco trading at all-time-high levels back to its IPO in December 1985
• Philip Morris trading at all-time highs back to its spinoff from Altria in March 2008
• Moody's trading at all-time highs back to its spinoff from Dun & Bradstreet in 2000
• Quest Diagnostics trading at levels not seen since January 2022
• Palantir Technologies (PLTR) trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in September 2020
• Verisign (VRSN) trading at levels not seen since July 2023

— Christopher Hayes, Lisa Kailai Han

Intel stock surges, on pace for best day in nearly one month

Shares of chipmaker Intel were 7% higher on Tuesday and on pace for their best day since Jan. 17, when the stock gained more than 9%.

Intel stock has slipped more than 51% over the past year.

— Brian Evans, Adrian van Hauwermeiren

Consumer discretionary struggles as Tesla, Marriott fall

The consumer discretionary sector was down 1.4% in afternoon trading, making it the worst performing of the 11 major groups, according to FactSet.

The sector was weighed down by Tesla and Marriott International, which were each lower by more than 5%.

This is the fifth straight negative session for Tesla and comes as CEO Elon Musk is spending a large portion of his time focused on his role with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency and in his fight with OpenAI. Oppenheimer analyst Colin Rusch said in a note Tuesday that the Musk-led bid to buy OpenAI was a "distraction from TSLA's challenges."

The Marriott slide comes after the hotel chain's guidance for 2025 earnings per share came in below estimates, according to FactSet.

— Jesse Pound

Coca-Cola, Fidelity National Information Services among the stocks making midday moves

These are some stocks making the biggest moves in midday trading:

• Lattice Semiconductor — Shares surged more than 7% after the chipmaker beat consensus revenue estimates in the fourth quarter. Revenue of $117.4 million came above analysts' calls for $117.1 million, according to LSEG.
• Coca-Cola — Shares gained more than 3% after the soda maker's fourth-quarter results topped Wall Street estimates. Coca-Cola posted adjusted earnings of 55 cents per share on revenue of $11.54 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG expected a profit of 52 cents per share and $10.68 billion in revenue.
• Fidelity National Information Services — The fintech company's stock plummeted more than 15% after its fourth-quarter revenue missed analysts' expectations. The company posted revenue of $2.60 billion, below the FactSet consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. The company's guidance for the current quarter also came in weaker than expected. 

Read the full list here.

— Sean Conlon

Beauty stock Coty sheds 6% in worst session since October

Shares of beauty company Coty were last trading 6% lower on Tuesday after reporting disappointing second-quarter earnings.

Coty is the parent company of brands such as Kylie Cosmetics, Sally Hansen, Rimmel and CoverGirl. On Monday afternoon, Coty posted fiscal second-quarter adjusted earnings of 11 cents on revenue of $1.67 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet had penciled in earnings of 21 cents on $1.72 billion in revenue.

Coty hit a new 52-week low during Tuesday's trading session, putting the stock on pace for its worst day since Oct. 15. With foreign-exchange headwinds expected to weigh on sales in the second half of 2025, Coty's outlook does not leave much room for optimism either.

Coty has lost approximately 80% of its market value since hitting a record closing high in July 2015.

— Adrian van Hauwermeiren, Lisa Kailai Han

Guggenheim downgrades Snap on profitability concerns

Snap's efforts to keep up with its social media peers will keep its stock from any major upside in the year ahead, according to Guggenheim.

Analyst Michael Morris downgraded Snap to neutral from buy, saying in a note to clients that recently announced investments for growth could make the company's push to profitability a 2027 story.

"While we don't necessarily believe that additional investment is the wrong strategy, we also note that the company's relatively slower revenue growth has come despite management's intent to drive acceleration during prior periods. As such, the likely need to invest more to be competitive drives further pressure on profitability," Morris said.

Guggenheim also lowered its price target to $11 per share from $13. The new target is less than 3% above where the stock closed Monday. Shares of Snap were recently down 0.3%.

— Jesse Pound

Meta on pace to snap a record run

Meta Platforms is on track to snap a 16-day win streak, which is its longest consecutive streak of gains among Nasdaq-100 companies going back to 1985. It is also the best win streak of gains in the S&P 500 this year.

The Facebook parent has pulled ahead of the other megacap companies in 2025, with the stock up more than 22%, as investors expect the stock is a "net winner on the back of this AI spending" that could bolster the company's advertising performance.

— Sarah Min, Nick Wells

Phillips 66 shares rise after activist investor Elliott reportedly builds stake

Phillips 66 shares popped more than 3.5% after activist Elliott Investment Management reportedly built a stake in the refining company worth more than $2.5 billion, The Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The activist investor plans to push Phillips 66 to sell or spin off its big midstream business and make other operational changes, according to the report. Shares of the company are up about 8.6% in 2025, but have lost more than 12% over the past year.

Elliott also recently acquired a stake in oil company BP and has several investments across energy majors, including Marathon and NRG Energy.

— Pia Singh

Major U.S. indexes open Tuesday in the red

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 106 points, or 0.2%, shortly after 9:30 a.m. ET. The S&P 500 was down roughly 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite traded more than 0.5% lower.

— Pia Singh

Cleveland Fed's Hammack sees no rate cuts with upside inflation risks

Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack said Tuesday she sees it unlikely that interest rates will be lowered "for some time" while inflation remains elevated.

In remarks delivered for a forum in Kentucky, the central bank official noted that "upside risks to the inflation outlook abound," specifically citing the effect of tariffs along with strong consumer spending.

"Given the economy's momentum heading into 2025, and with a healthy labor market, we have the luxury of being patient as we assess the path forward for inflation," she said. "We have made good progress, but 2 percent inflation is not in sight just yet. As long as the labor market remains healthy, I am looking for broad-based evidence that inflation is sustainably returning to 2 percent before adjusting policy further," Hammack added.

Hammack is a nonvoter this year on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee, though she still participates in the meetings and offers economic projections. She will get a vote in 2026.

— Jeff Cox

See the stocks moving before the bell

These are some of the stocks making notable moves in Tuesday's premarket:

• Coca-Cola — The soda maker popped 3.2% after surpassing Wall Street expectations on both lines for the fourth quarter. Coca-Cola earned an adjusted 55 cents per share on $11.54 billion in revenue, while analysts polled by LSEG predicted 52 cents in earnings per share and $10.68 billion in revenue.
• Affirm — The online lender added 1.8% after unveiling a deal with FIS to bring Affirm's buy now, pay later debit cards to more banks and their customers.
• Fluence Energy — The energy storage stock plunged 38% after first-quarter earnings underperformed expectations. Fluence lost 32 cents per share and saw revenue of $186.8 million, while analysts polled by FactSet anticipated a drop of just 19 cents per share and revenue at $362.5 million.

Click here for the full list.

— Alex Harring

Coca-Cola shares rise on quarterly earnings and revenue beat

Coca-Cola shares jumped 3.3% after the beverage company exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations. Most of the increase in Coca-Cola's organic revenue came from pricing and higher global demand for its drinks, which many consumer companies have struggled to see.

Here's what the company reported for the quarter ending on Dec. 31, compared to estimates from analysts polled by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: 55 cents adjusted vs. 52 cents expected
• Revenue: $11.54 billion vs. $10.68 billion expected

For more on Coca-Cola earnings, read here.

— Pia Singh

Mizuho upgrades First Solar to outperform, citing strong patents

In a Tuesday note, Mizuho upgraded shares of solar technology supplier First Solar to an outperform rating from neutral on an improved post-2026 sales outlook. Analyst Maheep Mandloi accompanied the move by raising his price target to $259 from $218.

Shares of First Solar have added around 8% over the past 12 months. The stock has slipped nearly 8% in 2025.

"The stock has likely underperformed YTD given negative sentiment around 45X manufacturing tax credits surviving Republican administration but, even in our base case assuming 45X expires after 2026 (1-year off-ramp), we see less pain for FSLR anyway offset by tariffs, leading to better negotiating power in 2027," Mandloi wrote.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Expect near-term choppiness for stocks to persist, says Fundstrat

Fundstrat technical strategist Mark Newton sees more volatile trading ahead for stocks.

"This remains a choppy market for US Equities in the near term as part of a stellar ongoing intermediate-term uptrend, which has shown no evidence of deterioration despite any of the recent DeepSeek and/or Tariff-related volatility spikes," he said in a note.

"Despite the positive recovery in Technology lately, the broader market continues to lag, and indices like Equal-weighted S&P 500, DJ Transportation Avg., and Russell 2000 remain well off highs hit last December. However, sentiment regarding tariffs and their possible negative implications for the US Stock market has gotten quite bearish for both the Equity and Bond markets in recent weeks, which I believe is a positive," he added.

— Fred Imbert

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours

Check out the companies making headlines in extended trading:

• Lattice Semiconductor — Shares soared around 12% after the chipmaker beat analysts' expectations on revenue in the fourth quarter. Revenue of $117.4 million surpassed analysts' calls for $117.1 million, according to LSEG.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals — The biotechnology stock slipped 1% on mixed fourth-quarter results. Vertex reported adjusted earnings of $3.98 per share, which missed analysts' estimates for $4.03 per share, according to LSEG. Meanwhile, revenue of $2.91 billion topped forecasts for $2.78 billion. 
• Astera Labs — Shares of the semiconductor company added nearly 2% after its top- and bottom-line beats in the fourth quarter. Astera posted adjusted earnings of 37 cents per share on revenue of $141 million. Analysts polled by LSEG forecast earnings of 26 cents per share and $128 million in revenue. The company's top- and bottom-line guidance for the first quarter also came above estimates. 

The full story can be found here.

— Hakyung Kim

Stock futures open flat

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

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 26 points, or 0.06%. Futures tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures inched down around 0.1% each.

— Hakyung Kim