US stocks ended lower after wavering below the flatline in a narrow range, as investors digested a batch of mixed economic reports.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 133.68 points, or 0.75 percent, to 17,603.32 on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.
The S&P 500 dropped 20.96 points, or 1.01 percent, to 2,045.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index moved down 47.86 points, or 0.98 percent, to 4,843.93.
The US Department of Commerce announced Tuesday that the goods and services deficit was $47.1 billion in February, up $1.2 billion from the revised January reading.
The US non-manufacturing index registered 54.5 percent in March, 1.1 percentage points higher than the February reading of 53.4 percent and beating market consensus of 54.0 percent, the Institute Supply Management (ISM) reported on Tuesday.
"The wider than expected trade deficit will weigh on first quarter growth, which is likely to be softer than initially expected," said Sophia Kearney-Lederman, an economic analyst at FTN Financial.
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"The uptick in both ISM manufacturing and non-manufacturing new orders in March, suggest a rebound in Q2. This rebound sets the stage for a recovery, but further increases are necessary for confirmation," she said.
Meanwhile, the number of job openings was little changed at 5.4 million on the last business day of February, said the US Labor Department on Tuesday.