WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved mostly lower over the course of the
trading day on Tuesday, with the major averages all moving to the downside after
ending the previous session modestly higher.

In recent trading, the major averages have fallen to new lows for the session.
The Dow is down 303.53 points or 0.8 percent at 38,082.56, the Nasdaq is down
131.42 points or 0.8 percent at 15,851.66 and the S&P 500 is down 36.35 points
or 0.7 percent at 5,079.82.

The weakness on Wall Street partly reflects lingering concerns about the outlook
for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement
on Wednesday.

The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but the
accompanying statement and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting press
conference may shed additional light on the outlook for rates.

Recent economic data has tamped down expectations of a near-term rate cut, with
the central bank now seen as likely to leave rates unchanged until at least
September.

Negative sentiment may also have been generated in reaction to a Conference
Board report showing U.S. consumer confidence deteriorated by much more than
expected in the month of April.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index slid to 97.0 in April
from a downwardly revised 103.1 in March. Economists had expected the index to
dip to 140.0 from the 104.7 originally reported for the previous month.

'Confidence retreated further in April, reaching its lowest level since July
2022 as consumers became less positive about the current labor market situation,
and more concerned about future business conditions, job availability, and
income,' said Dana M. Peterson, Chief Economist at The Conference Board.

She added, 'According to April's write-in responses, elevated price levels,
especially for food and gas, dominated consumer's concerns, with politics and
global conflicts as distant runners-up.'

Sector News

Gold stocks are turning in some of the market's worst performances on the day,
resulting in a 3.5 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.

The sell-off by gold stocks comes amid a steep drop by the price of the precious
metal, with gold for June delivery plummeting $53.20 to $2,304.50 an ounce.

Substantial weakness is also visible among energy stocks, which are moving
significantly lower along with the price of crude oil.

Networking, airline and housing stocks are also seeing considerable weakness,
moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly
higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.2 percent
and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index rose by 0.4 percent, but China's Shanghai
Composite Index bucked the uptrend and dipped by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the
day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40
Index and the German DAX Index are both down by 0.8 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have moved back to the downside following the
rebound seen over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the
benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 5.6 basis
points at 4.670 percent.



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