NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks fell Tuesday after a session which saw major indices moving in and out of positive territory.

Sell-offs in Apple and Tesla were the highlight, as the U.S. Senate now considers the Biden administration's $1.9 trillion stimulus package which was passed by the House of Representatives last week.

Investors are in a wait-and-see mode because of a lull in big market-moving events, Tim Murray, a T. Rowe Price capital markets strategist was quoted as saying by Reuters Thomson on Tuesday.

"The news is trickling at this point," he said, noting that investors are also bracing for possible market surprises related to COVID vaccines and variants.

The technology sector again led the selling on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq Composite losing 230.04 points or 1.69 percent to close at 13,358.79.

The Standard and Poor's 500 was off 31.63 points or 0.81 percent at 3,870.29.

The Dow Jones industrials gave up 143.99 points or 0.46 percent to 31,391.52.

On foreign exchange markets the rally in the U.S. dollar lost momentum. The greenback slid across the board. The euro advanced to 1.2089 approaching the New York close Monday. The British pound swelled to 1.3967. The Japanese yen appreciated to 106.75. The Swiss franc firmed to 0.9142.

The Canadian dollar jumped to 1.2616. The Australian dollar put on more than half-a-cent to 0.7829. The New Zealand dollar rose to 0.7300.

Overseas, in London the FTSE 100 closed 0.38 percent higher./ The German Dax rose 0.19 percent, the in Paris, France, the CAC 40 climbed 0.29 percent.

On Asian markets, the Australian All Ordinaries dropped 32.80 points or 0.47 percent to 7,009.90. Shaw and Partners investment advisor Craig Sydney said Tuesday's session was weak, but only when compared to Monday's surprisingly strong session.

"We are only back to where we were last Wednesday," he told The Sydney Morning Herald Tuesday.

"I think there is an element of profit taking and we were probably getting a bit ahead of ourselves this morning...I guess our market, unlike the U.S., is not so dominated by tech."

In Japan the Nikkei 225 dived 255.33 points or 0.86 percent to 29,408.17.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 356.71 points or 1.21 percent to 29,095.86.

China's Shanghai Composite closed down 42.81 points or 1.21 percent at 3,508.59.