S&P 500, Nasdaq stocks head up over Federal Reserve's dovish stance on rate hikes

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose on Tuesday after tame inflation data supported the Federal Reserve's dovish stance on rate hikes, but the Dow was down as Boeing's shares extended sharp losses from the day before. The Labor Department said its Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose last month, in line with estimates, and in the 12 months through February the CPI had the smallest gain since September 2016.

Boeing Co slumped 5.9 per cent, extending Monday's losses, as more countries grounded the company's best selling line of jets following a second fatal crash in five months, while Senators Mitt Romney and Elizabeth Warren also urged the Federal Aviation Administration to temporarily ground the aircraft. Airline stocks took a hit with the Dow Jones airlines index dropping 1.6 per cent. The broader industrial sector was down 0.7 per cent.

"The airline's industry as a whole is now exposed to political pressure and potentially some industry pressure that wasn't there a few days ago," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 64.98 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 25,585.9, the S&P 500 gained 11.38 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 2,794.68 and the Nasdaq Composite added 42.58 points, or 0.56 per cent, to 7,600.64.

The world's largest planemaker fell as much as 13.4 per cent on Monday and weighed on the Dow Jones index although it pared losses towards the end of the session. Apple climbed again on Tuesday, a day after the iPhone maker invited media to a March 25 event where it is expected to launch a television and video service.

F5 Networks Inc slipped after the network software maker said it would buy privately held NGINX. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.89-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.27-to-1 ratio favoured advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 44 new 52-week highs and 1 new low; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 64 new highs and 19 new lows. 

(With inputs from agencies.)