U.S. stocks ended lower Tuesday after wavering below the flatline in a narrow range, as investors digested a batch of mixed economic reports.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 133.68 points, or 0.75 percent, to 17,603.32. The S&P 500 dropped 20.96 points, or 1.01 percent, to 2,045.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index moved down 47.86 points, or 0.98 percent, to 4,843.93.
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced Tuesday that the goods and services deficit was 47.1 billion U.S. dollars in February, up 1.2 billion dollars from the revised January reading.
The U.S. non-manufacturing index registered 54.5 percent in March, 1.1 percentage points higher than the February reading of 53.4 percent and beating market consensus of 54.0 percent, the Institute Supply Management (ISM) reported Tuesday.
"The wider than expected trade deficit will weigh on first quarter growth, which is likely to be softer than initially expected," said Sophia Kearney-Lederman, an economic analyst at FTN Financial. "The uptick in both ISM manufacturing and non-manufacturing new orders in March, suggest a rebound in Q2. This rebound sets the stage for a recovery, but further increases are necessary for confirmation," she said.
Meanwhile, the number of job openings was little changed at 5.4 million on the last business day of February, said the U.S. Labor Department Tuesday.
Overseas, in a speech at a German university on Tuesday, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde called on the world's economies to boost growth, warning that risks to global growth are rising.
European equities traded sharply lower Tuesday amid Lagarde's remarks, with the German benchmark DAX index at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange tumbling 2.63 percent. In Asia, Chinese shares sat on solid gains Tuesday and extended the winning streak to a fourth day. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.45 percent to 3,053.07 points.
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