The Dow Jones Industrials slid 87.72 points to 34,220.36.
The S&P 500 retreated 15.08 points to 4,397.45
The NASDAQ Composite faded 40.38 points to 13,371.57.
Tech stocks gave up earlier gains after popping to start the day. Microsoft dropped 1%, and Nvidia fell 2%.
Energy stocks tracked oil prices upward. Occidental Petroleum jumped 2.5%, Devon Energy gained 4%, Marathon Oil popped 5.1% and Chevron spiked 2.3%.
Consumer prices for March increased 1.2% month-to-month and 8.5% annually, the Labor Department said on Tuesday. But traders were focusing on the core reading, which excludes food and energy prices.
Core CPI in March increased 0.3%, below the consensus economist estimate from Dow Jones of 0.5%. Core prices on an annual basis were up 6.5%.
Treasury prices gained ground, putting yields back down to 2.73%, from Monday’s 2.77%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained $6.44 to $100.73 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $22.00 to $1,978.10 U.S. an ounce.