Stocks were little changed on Tuesday as investors digested cautious commentary from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on interest rates. Concerns remain over the direction of the economy amid U.S. tariffs and the possible escalation of a global trade war.

The S&P 500 added 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite shed nearly 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3%.

Apple gained more than 2.5% after The Information reported that the company is partnering with Alibaba to develop AI features for iPhone users in China, curbing the market's losses.

Powell earlier addressed the Senate Banking Committee and signaled the Fed does not need to move quickly to ease monetary policy.

"With our policy stance now significantly less restrictive than it had been and the economy remaining strong, we do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance," Powell said in his first of two appearances this week on Capitol Hill. The central bank leader called the economy "strong overall" with a "solid" labor market, and said inflation is easing but remains above the Fed's 2% goal.

Powell's testimony — which will be followed by his appearance before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday — comes at a volatile time in Washington with President Donald Trump favoring tariffs against U.S. trading partners and with mixed messages coming from the administration on its approach to the Fed.

Trump on Monday signed new tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to the U.S. The European Union responded by saying it would retaliate with levies of its own if the U.S. tacks on tariffs against products from the country bloc.

Investors are looking ahead to fresh inflation data in the form of the latest consumer price index report due out Wednesday, while the producer price index will go out on Thursday.

"I really think that the market is treading water, listening to Powell and waiting to see what tomorrow's CPI will bring," said Sam Stovall, CFRA Research chief investment strategist. "I'm of the belief that investors are really going to push prices higher based on earnings growth, not expecting P/E multiple expansion."

"The only concern regarding earnings could be that some of this quarter's enthusiasm was the result of something being taken from next quarter's estimates," Stovall added. "The question we're going to have to see in the months ahead is, did we indeed see an acceleration of ordering ahead of the expected Trump tariffs, and that gave an artificial boost to the appearance of an improving economy?"