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Nvidia ( NVDA ) falls as annual software developer conference gets

underway

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Tesla falls after RBC lowers price target

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Alphabet declines after $32 billion deal to buy Wiz

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Indexes down: Dow 0.54%, S&P 500 0.98%, Nasdaq 1.58%

(Updates to mid-afternoon trading)

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK, March 18 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on

Tuesday, on track to snap a two-session streak of gains, as

investors exercised caution ahead of a monetary policy decision

from the Federal Reserve, while gauging the potential impact of

President Trump's tariff policies.

The Fed will release its latest policy statement on

Wednesday, where the central bank is widely expected to keep

interest rates unchanged, along with its updated summary of

economic projections (SEP).

Markets are currently pricing in about 60 basis points (bps)

of cuts from the Fed this year, although several U.S. central

bank officials have cautioned against the Fed moving too quickly

on rates and said they would wait to see the impact of tariffs

in economic data before making any policy shifts.

"There's just great uncertainty here about the tariffs, how

extensive they are going to be, how that's going to economically

impact us, how much the Fed might ease eventually and the

economy in general," said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio

strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York.

"There is a lot of confusion out there, and when there's

confusion, when there isn't a real opportunity for stocks to go

up and for companies to expand and make more money, there's

fear."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 223.95 points,

or 0.54%, to 41,617.68, the S&P 500 lost 55.65 points, or

0.98%, to 5,619.36 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 283.15

points, or 1.58%, to 17,525.52.

Adding to inflation concerns, U.S. import prices

unexpectedly rose in February amid higher costs for consumer

goods.

Stocks had recently shown some signs of stabilizing after

several weeks of declines that sent the S&P 500 and Nasdaq down

more than 10% from their recent highs, also known as correction

territory.

The blue-chip Dow is slightly more than 2% away from

reaching correction levels.

Growth stocks were among the hardest hit, with the S&P 500

growth index down more than 2% at one point during the session.

Communication services was the worst performing of the

11 major S&P sectors.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald

Trump agreed to seek a limited 30-day ceasefire against energy

and infrastructure targets in Ukraine, while talks aimed at

advancing toward a broader peace plan will begin "immediately,"

the White House said.

Alphabet fell 2.6% after the company said it would

buy Wiz for about $32 billion in its biggest deal as the Google

parent doubles down on cybersecurity.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) declined 2.3%. The company is expected to

reveal details of its latest AI chip at its annual software

developer conference.

Tesla slumped 5.1% after brokerage RBC trimmed its

price target on the EV maker's stock, flagging the company is

losing market share in China and Europe.

With the defensive tone, investors moved to safe-haven

assets, with gold trading at a record high, after

crossing $3,000 per ounce for the first time last week.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.77-to-1

ratio on the NYSE and a 2.09-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted four new 52-week highs and four new lows,

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 29 new highs and 126 new

lows.