(Updates to morning U.S. trading)

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Stocks dip amid tariff uncertainty

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U.S. Durable goods orders rise 0.9%, beating expectations

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Dollar index strengthens, on pace for fifth gain in six

sessions

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK, March 26 (Reuters) - Global stocks dipped for

the first time in three sessions on Wednesday and the U.S.

dollar resumed its upward move as investors looked for further

updates on U.S. President Donald Trump's expected tariffs while

an April 2 deadline looms.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were lower while the

Dow advanced, as the technology sector weighed in the

early stages of trading. Both the benchmark S&P index and Nasdaq

were on track to snap a three-session streak of gains.

Stocks have shown signs of bottoming in recent days after

coming under pressure due to uncertainty over the tariff outlook

and their potential to slow the global economy and dent

corporate profits. Still, each of the three major U.S. indexes

are on track for their first back-to-back monthly declines since

the two-month period that ended in October 2023.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 182.05 points,

or 0.43%, to 42,769.55, the S&P 500 fell 20.10 points, or

0.34%, to 5,756.79 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 212.27

points, or 1.16%, to 18,059.58.

The U.S. Commerce Department said orders for durable goods

increased 0.9% versus the estimate of economists polled by

Reuters for a 1.0% fall, after advancing an upwardly revised

3.3% in January as businesses rushed to place orders for primary

metals and fabricated metal products ahead of the anticipated

tariffs.

Trump most recently commented about tariffs on Monday, and

said automobile tariffs are coming soon even as he indicated

that not all of his threatened levies would be imposed on April

2 and some countries may get exemptions, while also slapping 25%

secondary tariffs on any country that buys oil or gas from

Venezuela.

"Everybody's trying to figure out what's going to be done on

tariffs," said Steve Englander, head of global G10 FX Research

and North America macro strategy at Standard Chartered Bank's NY

Branch.

"They want to avoid market pressure before there's an

announcement. But I think there's also some risk that, when push

comes to shove, the announced tariffs will be more hawkish than

the market's pricing," he added.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback

against a basket of currencies, rose 0.08% to 104.30, with the

euro down just 0.01% at $1.079. After dipping on Tuesday,

the greenback is on track for its fifth gain in six sessions.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe fell

2.54 points, or 0.30%, to 850.95 while the pan-European STOXX

600 index fell 0.44% as the coming tariffs spurred

caution.

European stocks have outperformed their U.S. counterparts

this year, largely on hopes a German spending package could spur

growth and help counter the levies. The STOXX 600 was poised for

its biggest percentage gain since the fourth quarter of 2022.

Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.39%

to 150.48. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said the central

bank must raise interest rates if persistent increases in food

costs lead to broad-based inflation.

New Bank of Japan board member Junko Koeda said the

country's real interest rates are currently "extremely low," as

inflation accelerates backed by solid growth in wages but

declined to comment on how soon the central bank should raise

interest rates.

Sterling weakened 0.36% to $1.2896 after British

finance minister Rachel Reeves cut the government's plans for

spending increases on Wednesday to get back on track towards her

fiscal targets. Earlier data showed British inflation slowed

more than expected in February.

U.S. Treasury yields were higher, with the yield on benchmark

U.S. 10-year notes up 4 basis points to 4.348% and

is on pace for its first monthly gain since December.

U.S. crude rose 1.26% to $69.87 a barrel and Brent

rose to $73.86 per barrel, up 1.15% on the day.