US equity indexes traded mixed after midday on Tuesday as investors remained vigilant to headline risk relating to trade tariffs that the Trump administration plans to announce on April 2.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3% to 18,235.1, with the S&P 500 up less than 0.1% to 5,770.2. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 0.1% at 42,543.3. All three indexes traded lower earlier in the session. Communication services topped gainers, while utilities, consumer staples, and real estate led the decliners intraday.

President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 25% duties on imports from countries that buy oil from Venezuela while promising to impose further levies on imports from Canada and Mexico, the largest U.S. trading partners. The constant threat of tariffs, along with rising violence in the Middle East, is heightening geopolitical tensions and threatening to boost inflation in the US and countries imposing reciprocal tariffs

Most US Treasury yields fell intraday, with the 10-year yield down 2.2 basis points to 4.31% and the two-year rate 2.8 basis points lower at 4.01%.

In economic news, the Conference Board's measure of consumer confidence fell to 92.9 in March from 100.1 in February, below the 94.0 expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and the fourth straight decline. Looking ahead, expectations for employment, business conditions, and income growth all deteriorated in the month.

In company news, BTIG upgraded CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) to buy from neutral, with a price target of $431. Shares of the cyber security company rose 3.5% to $385.58 intraday, among the top performers in the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

Apple (AAPL) is likely to avoid a possible fine as the company has made changes to the iPhone's browser design to comply with the Digital Markets Act, and the European Commission is poised to conclude its investigation early next week, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing people with direct knowledge of the matter. Shares rose 1.1% intraday, the top performer on the Dow.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures fell 0.5% to $68.77 a barrel.