In earnings news, Johnson and Johnson reported first-quarter sales of $23.4 billion, slightly missing Wall Street expectations but growing 5% over the same quarter last year. The company posted earnings that beat expectations and increased 3.1% over the same period of 2021. J&J reported net income of $5.15 billion, a nearly 17% decrease over the first quarter of 2021.

Homebuilding unexpectedly rose in March, but starts for single-family housing tumbled amid rising mortgage rates. The NAHB Housing Market Index fell to a seven-month low of 77 for April. The housing market faces an inflection point as an unexpectedly quick rise in interest rates, rising home prices and escalating material costs have significantly decreased housing affordability conditions, particularly in the crucial entry-level market.

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday cut its global growth projections for 2022 and 2023, saying the economic hit from Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine will propagate far and wide. The Washington-based institution is now projecting a 3.6% GDP rate for the global economy this year and for 2023. This represents a 0.8 and 0.2 percentage point drop, respectively, from its forecasts published back in January.