Wall Street drifts as stocks take a pause after choppy ride

By STAN CHOE
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are drifting on Wall Street amid uncertainty about where interest rates and inflation are heading. The S&P 500 was 0.2% lower in Tuesday morning trading. The Dow was also down, while the Nasdaq was slightly higher. Stocks have pulled back recently, shaving off some of their strong start to the year. The market had rallied powerfully on hopes cooling inflation could get the Federal Reserve to take it easier on interest rates. But a joltingly strong jobs report on Friday raised concerns the Fed may follow through on its pledge to keep rates higher for longer to ensure high inflation is crushed.