US equity indexes were off session highs as President Donald Trump's Wednesday deadline to impose more tariffs on China approached, undermining his administration's efforts to communicate that deals are being worked on with other international trade partners.

The Nasdaq rose 0.3% to 15,654.2 after midday on Tuesday, relinquishing a gain of over 3.1% earlier in the session. The S&P 500 traded up 0.3% to 5,077.1, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.8% higher at 38,255.5, with the duo also off their session highs of at least 2.4% each.

Materials and energy led the decliners while financials and utilities were among the top gainers intraday.

The US will impose a 104% tariff on China from 12:01 AM ET on Wednesday, a White House official said after Beijing failed to lift its retaliatory tariffs on US goods by a noon Tuesday deadline set by President Trump, Reuters reported Tuesday.

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said 70 countries have reached out to Trump following his tariff announcement and are "falling over themselves" to secure a deal with the US, according to a report from The Independent.

"Following a very constructive phone discussion with the Government of Japan," President Donald Trump has "tasked me and USTradeRep to open negotiations to implement the President's vision for the new Golden Age of Global Trade" with Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba and his Cabinet, US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

The CBOE Volatility Index jumped 4.3% to 49 intraday, after sliding 16% earlier in the day.

Almost all US Treasury yields rose intraday, with the 10-year yield up 7.6 basis points to 4.23% and the two-year rate one basis point higher at 3.75%.

In economic news, Redbook US same-store sales surged 7.2% year-over-year during the week that ended April 5, after a 4.8% increase in the previous week.

In company news, shares of UnitedHealth Group (UNH), Humana (HUM), and CVS Health (CVS) were up 5.9%, 9.3%, and 6.1%, respectively, after the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said late Monday it will increase payment rates for Medicare insurers in 2026. The trio were top gainers in the S&P 500 intraday.

Broadcom (AVGO) jumped 5.3% intraday, the strongest performer on the Nasdaq, after the company said its board authorized a share repurchase program to buy back up to $10 billion of its common stock.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures dropped 1.1% to $60.05 a barrel, giving up a gain of more than 1% intraday.

Gold futures rose 0.9% to $3,000.06 per ounce, and silver futures advanced 0.8% to $29.85 per ounce. Both precious metals were also off session highs.