U.S. stocks edged lower on Tuesday, giving up some of the solid gains booked during the previous two sessions. The main benchmarks looked set to end the month lower, but were still on track to book modest quarterly gains. Analysts said investors reassessed their investments ahead of what's feared to be a disappointing stretch for corporate quarterly results. "Investors are anxiously awaiting earnings reports over the next few week, hoping they are not as bad as feared. With markets trading near recent highs, a lot is at stake," said Eric Wiegand, senior portfolio manager at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. The S&P 500 SPX, -0.43% dropped nine points, or 0.4%, to 2,077. The benchmark index is set to end the first quarter up 0.9%, which would mark its ninth-straight winning quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.56% sank 92 points, or 0.5%, to 17,884. Among the blue chips, 26 of the 30 components were trading lower. The Dow is set to finish the quarter marginally higher. The Nasdaq Composite COMP, -0.46% fell 20 points, or 0.4%, to 4,927. The tech-heavy index is set to log a nearly 4% gain in the quarter, the longest quarterly winning streak in its history. Need to Know: Don't be the 6-foot-tall man about to drown in this market Commenting on the performance of stocks over the past three months, Tom Wright, director of equities at JMP Securities, said the fact that each selloff was met with a rebound indicates that underpinnings of the market are still intact. Wright noted that impending rates hikes will be stimulative to the stock market. "When companies realize that money will be expensive, they will want to use available cash to buy smaller firms. Ultimately, a shrinking supply will keep prices of stocks higher," Write said. Home prices and lots of Fedspeak: U.S. house prices were steady in January, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city composite released Tuesday. The Chicago business barometer -- also known as the Chicago PMI -- rose in March, but was still well below the key 50 level, which would signal that businesses are contracting. Meanwhile, consumer confidence index jumped to 101.3 in March from 98.8 in February. Among today's Fed speakers, Richmond Fed Jeffrey Lacker said he expects solid growth and rising inflation this year, and as a result, would urge the U.S. central bank to start raising interest rates relatively soon. Stocks to watch: IBM Corp. IBM, -0.52% said Tuesday it plans to invest $3 billion in a new "Internet of Things" business that will help customers gather and analyze data from sensor-equipped devices and smartphones. Shares fell 1%. CBRE Group Inc. CBG, +6.26% said it would buy Johnson Controls Inc. JCI, +1.93% workplace solutions business in a deal worth $1.475 billion. CBRE shares jumped 5.7%. U.S. cable TV operator Cablevision Systems Corp. CVC, -1.03% is eyeing a deal to buy the New York Daily News that would value the newspaper at $1, Reuters reported, citing sources. Other markets: European stocks SXXP, -0.64% retreated after data showed eurozone unemployment was still above expectations at 11.3% in February, after upward revisions to prior months. Reports that Greek bailout-revision talks ended without a deal also didn't help sentiment for Europe stocks. Asian stocks closed on a mixed note, but the quarter produced double-digit wins for the Nikkei 225 index NIK, -1.05% and the Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, -1.02% The dollar EURUSD, -0.82% rose notably against the euro on Monday as investors waited for U.S. economic reports later in the week. Oil prices CLK5, -1.29% fell as talks over Iran's nuclear talks neared a deadline and dollar strength weighed. Gold GCJ5, -0.15% prices inched higher. Source: MarketWatch
