NEW YORK - US stocks ended mixed on Tuesday as investors navigated underwhelming consumer consumption data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 52.27 points, or 0.1 percent, to finish at 50,188.14, marking its third consecutive all-time closing high. The S&P 500 fell 23.01 points, or 0.33 percent, to 6,941.81, while the Nasdaq Composite Index shed 136.19 points, or 0.59 percent, to 23,102.48.

Performance across the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors was divided, with six ending in the red. Communication services and financials were the primary laggards, while utilities and real estate led the gainers as investors sought defensive positions.

The market's momentum was tempered by a report from the Commerce Department showing that US retail sales were unexpectedly flat in December. The stagnation during the holiday period fell short of the 0.4 percent growth projected by economists.

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Bank of New York's quarterly report on household debt revealed that aggregate balances rose by 191 billion US dollars in the fourth quarter to a total of 18.8 trillion dollars. Notably, delinquency rates for auto loans and credit cards reached their highest levels in roughly 15 years, particularly within lower-income zip codes.

"There has been a lot of damage done the last few years to household finances - with rising inflation, rising cost of living pressures, rising interest rates," Ted Rossman, principal analyst at Bankrate, told CNN in an interview.

The financial sector faced specific pressure on Tuesday after the tech platform Altruist launched a new artificial intelligence-powered tax planning tool. The announcement sparked fears of widespread disruption to traditional wealth management models, leading to an 8.31 percent drop in LPL Financial and a 7.42 percent decline in Charles Schwab.

Further dampening sentiment in the technology space, a research note by UBS chief investment office downgraded the US information technology sector to neutral. The bank cited a likely deceleration in artificial intelligence infrastructure spending, which has increased more than fourfold over the past three years.

UBS warned that combined capital expenditures from major firms like Microsoft and Alphabet could reach 700 billion dollars this year, potentially exhausting nearly 100 percent of their operating cash flow and creating a significant overhang for investors.

On the earnings front, Spotify soared 14.75 percent following strong earnings, while Upwork sank 19.08 percent. Market participants are now waiting for the release of the delayed January nonfarm payrolls report on Wednesday.