The S&P 500 ended Tuesday's choppy session slightly lower as investors waited for clarity on U.S. trade policy after President Donald Trump's latest tariff threats dampened hopes around talks with some trade partners.

The market is coming off a broad sell-off after President Trump set a 25 percent tax on goods imported from Japan and South Korea and new tariff rates on a dozen other nations.

Much of the gains for U.S. stocks over the past few months have been powered by retail investors and corporations buying back their own shares. But more recently, professional investors on Wall Street have started warming up to stocks again just as major U.