S&P 500 falls third straight day as U.S. stocks end mostly lower Tuesday

U.S. stocks ended mostly lower Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite booking a third straight day of losses as investors assessed downbeat data on U.S. consumer confidence and China’s step toward potentially easing its strict COVID policy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+0.01%
closed about flat, while the S&P 500
SPX,
-0.16%
slipped 0.2% and the technology-heavy Nasdaq
COMP,
-0.59%
dropped 0.6%, according to preliminary data from FactSet. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its U.S. consumer confidence index fell in November to a four-month low amid concerns over a slowing economy and high inflation.