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Investing.com--U.S. stocks fell Tuesday, as investors digested President Donald Trump's tariffs on major metal imports and a slew of corporate earnings. There have also been comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, while investors are looking ahead to the release of key inflation data on Wednesday.

At 10:25 ET (15:25 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 83 points, or 0.2%, the S&P 500 index dropped 12 points, or 0.2%, and the NASDAQ Composite slipped 37 points, or 0.2%.

Trump signs orders on steel, aluminum tariffs

President Trump followed up his threat late on Monday, and signed executive orders imposing 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, while also stating that there would be no exceptions to the duties.

Major steel exporters such as Canada, Mexico, and Brazil were subject to some quota-based tariff exceptions, which will now be revoked.

Trump warned that tariffs on metals could go higher, and that he was considering tariffs on cars, chips, and pharmaceuticals. The president also flagged plans to raise U.S. import tariffs to match foreign duties on the import of U.S. goods.

Investors are now gauging if Trump will follow through on a separate threat to impose reciprocal tariffs, with worries swirling around a potential increase in international trade tensions.

CPI inflation, Powell's testimony in focus

Focus was now squarely on the consumer price index , due for release on Wednesday, amid concerns that Trump's tariffs policies will add inflationary pressures to the world’s largest economy.

The inflation gauge is projected to show that headline consumer price growth cooled on a month-on-month basis in January and equaled December's annualized pace.

So-called core inflation, which strips out more volatile items like food and fuel, is tipped to accelerate slightly from the prior month.

In December, consumer prices rose by 2.9% year-on-year, above the central bank's target level of 2%.

Meanwhile, Fed Chair Jerome Powell is facing questions today as he testifies to Congressional committees. He will do so again on Wednesday.

In his prepared testimony, Powell said the Federal Reserve does "not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance."

Earnings continue to flow; Coca-Cola the highlight

The fourth-quarter earnings season is more than halfway finished, with S&P 500 firms projected to have delivered income growth versus the year-ago period of 14.8%, up from estimates of less than 10% at the outset of 2025.

On the earnings front, Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO ) rose over 4% after the soft drinks giant beat estimates for fourth-quarter profit and revenue, helped by resilient demand for its sodas and juices and higher prices.

Shopfiy (NYSE: SHOP ) stock rose 2% after the e-commerce company’s posted better-than-expected holiday-quarter sales on the back of healthy consumer spending and its rollout of AI features, overshadowing its downbeat first-quarter profit outlook.

Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR ) stock fell 3% after the hospitality company forecast 2025 profit below estimates, hurt by poor performance at its hotels in Greater China.

WK Kellogg (NYSE: KLG ) stock rose 6% after the breakfast cereal maker forecast annual profit above expectations and reported better-than-expected earnings as its efforts to clamp down on costs boosted its margins.

Crude bounces

Oil prices rose Tuesday, adding to the previous session’s uptick, on more worries over potential supply disruptions, but gains were limited by worries that escalating trade tariffs could hit global economic growth.

By 1025:35 ET, the U.S. crude futures (WTI) gained 0.9% to $72.98 a barrel, while the Brent contract rose 1% to $76.61 a barrel.

Both contracts posted gains of near 2% in the prior session after three weekly losses in a row.

Concerns of further disruptions to global supplies were heightened following a Politico report on Monday that European countries plan to seize Russia's shadow fleet.

(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)