• US stocks traded mixed on Tuesday as investors prepare for first-quarter earnings results.
• The mega-cap banks including JPMorgan and Wells Fargo are scheduled to report results on Friday.
• Analysts have cut their earnings estimates considerably, suggesting that companies have a low bar to beat.

US stocks were mixed in Tuesday trades as investors prepare for the start of first-quarter earnings results, with mega-cap banks including JPMorgan and Wells Fargo set to report on Friday. 

Wall Street analysts have been pessimistic about the quarter's results, with earnings estimates falling by much more than usual, according to DataTrek Research. Analysts have lowered their Q1 S&P 500 earnings estimates to $50.76 per share from $54.13 at the start of the year.

That 6.3% decline is more than typical, suggesting elevated interest rates and a recent banking crisis are weighing on sentiment and could ultimately dent company results.

"Analysts always cut numbers as the quarter progresses but not, on average, by as much as we've just seen," DataTrek Research co-founder Nicholas Colas said in a Tuesday note.

Meanwhile, the closely watched consumer price index report is due Wednesday.

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET opening bell on Tuesday:

• S&P 500: 4,109.40, up 0.01%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,606.59, up 0.06% (20.07 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 33,606.59, down 0.16%

Here's what else is happening this morning:

• Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has boosted its bets on five Japanese companies, and wants to grow its stakes further and partner on big deals.
• Crypto stocks looked set to add to their recent gains Tuesday as bitcoin's jump above $30,000 fueled share-price rallies for companies that hold, trade, or mine the leading cryptocurrency.
• There's no clear sign of a credit crunch in the US yet, the president of the New York Federal Reserve has said — even as his own bank's survey found Americans are already feeling the squeeze. 
• The US job market is the strongest it's been in decades – and the Federal Reserve doesn't need to raise unemployment in order to bring down inflation, according to Nobel laureate Paul Krugman.

In commodities, bonds and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.82% to $80.39 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, jumped 0.49% to $84.59.
• Gold rose 0.52% to $2,014.30 per ounce.
• The yield on the 10-year Treasury was flat at 3.41%.
• Bitcoin rose 0.01% to $30,151, while ether fell 0.36% to $1,917.