US stocks trade mixed after hitting new records as investors await Fed meeting

• US stocks opened mixed on Tuesday ahead of the Fed's two-day March meeting.

• The central bank is expected to release new rate forecasts amid a surge in interest rates.
• Gold prices jumped while bitcoin slipped after hitting a new record over the weekend.
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US stocks opened mixed on Tuesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's two-day March meeting. The central bank is expected to release new rate forecasts this week amid a surge in interest rates.

The US central has kept interest rates nearly unchanged over the past year. Yet bond yields in 2021 have surged to new highs, causing some investors to believe that the central bank will raise rates sooner than expected in order to contain inflation.

Stocks closed higher on Monday amid continued optimism of a nationwide economic recovery within reach after President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion stimulus program into law last week.

The Dow hit a new record, extending its rally for the sixth straight session lifted by airline shares that soared as the Transportation Security Administration said air travel was at its busiest level in the US in nearly a year.

Here's where US indexes stood after the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Tuesday:

• S&P 500: 3,974.18, up 0.13%
• Dow Jones industrial average:32,913.67 down 0.12% (39.79 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 13,544.91, up 0.62%

Trading app eToro, a Robinhood rival, will go public via a $10.4 billion merger with Betsy Cohen's FinTech V SPAC as it looks to expand its presence in the US. FinTech Acquisition Corp. V (FCTV) shares jumped.

US retail sales contracted 3% in February, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday, as the effects of the stimulus petered out. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected sales to decline by 0.5% in February.

Gold jumped 0.25, to $1,733.40 per ounce as US treasury yields eased.

Oil prices fell. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 1.85%, to $64.19 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, declined by 1.66%, to $67.72 per barrel.

Bitcoin slipped 2.28% to $55,303 after soaring to $61,000 over the weekend, its all-time high.