Dow Rises Amid Broad Rally as Inflation Report Looms

U.S. equities traded in a narrow range on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining ground while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite struggled to hold their level.

The Dow added 222 points, or 0.4%, to 54,198, but its gains were largely driven by Caterpillar's 1.4% rise, which contributed roughly 72 index points.

Mega-cap technology companies Alphabet and Amazon accounted for the bulk of the Nasdaq's decline, falling 2.2% each and shaving off nearly the entire 0.32% decline from the index.

Despite this weakness, market breadth statistics showed a strong tone beneath the surface, with 72% of S&P 500 components trading above their 200-day moving averages and 66.2% above both their 20-day and 50-day averages.