(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock

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KB Home ( KBH ) falls after downbeat annual revenue forecast

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Consumer confidence stands at 92.9 in March

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CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) gains after brokerage rating

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Indexes up: Dow 0.04%, S&P 500 0.13%, Nasdaq 0.32%

(Updates wimid-session trading)

By Pranav Kashyap and Johann M Cherian

March 25 (Reuters) - Wall Street's major indexes edged

higher in choppy trading on Tuesday as investors assessed

consumer sentiment data and anticipated a more flexible trade

policy stance from the Trump administration next week.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday hinted at a potential

reprieve, suggesting that not all proposed tariffs would be

enforced by April 2, with certain countries possibly receiving

exemptions.

The benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq

soared to their highest levels in over two weeks,

bolstered by robust performances from megacap stocks like Nvidia ( NVDA )

and Tesla.

However, the lingering uncertainty over Trump's

unpredictable tariff strategy continued to cast a shadow over

market sentiment, positioning the S&P 500 for its first

quarterly loss in six periods.

Adding a layer of concern, Moody's underscored a troubling

trajectory for U.S. fiscal strength, projecting a sustained

multiyear decline.

A report revealed a dip in consumer confidence, with the

index falling to 92.9 in March - the lowest since February 2021.

"There's a little bit of paralysis with market participants

not knowing what to do because they don't know what policy is

going to go into place," said Charles Ashley, portfolio manger

at Catalyst Funds.

"We want to position ourselves to be insulated to the worst

case scenario but at the same time we still look for

opportunity."

Tesla shares slipped 0.4% after a substantial 12% rally

from the previous day.

Despite a general rise in electric vehicle registrations

across Europe, data for February revealed a year-on-year

contraction in

Tesla's market share

, marking the second consecutive month of declining sales.

KB Home ( KBH ) fell 3.4% as the homebuilder cut its

full-year 2025 revenue forecast.

At 11:49 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 13.94 points, or 0.04%, to 42,598.70, the S&P 500

gained 7.66 points, or 0.13%, to 5,775.23 and the Nasdaq

Composite gained 58.85 points, or 0.32%, to 18,247.45.

Seven of the S&P 500 sectors gained, with communication

services up 1%, boosted by a 2.4% jump in Meta.

On the other hand, utilities led declines with a 1.6%

fall.

Fed Governor Adriana Kugler

said

that the central bank's interest rate policy remains

restrictive, but progress on bringing inflation back to the

central bank's 2% target has slowed.

New York Fed President John Williams said firms and

households are "experiencing

heightened uncertainty

" about what lies ahead for the economy.

Amongst a cascade of economic indicators set to drop

this week, focus will be on the personal consumption

expenditures price index. The Fed's preferred inflation gauge is

set to drop on Friday.

Among others, McCormick & Company ( MKC ) dropped 1% after

the food processing company missed estimates on quarterly

profit.

CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) gained 4.5% as brokerage BTIG

raised its rating on the cybersecurity company to "buy" from

"neutral".

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.25-to-1

ratio on the NYSE and declining issues outnumbered advances by a

1.31-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 11 new 52-week highs and two new

lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 32 new highs and 104

new lows.