U.S. stocks finished lower Tuesday, far from session highs, thwarting a second session of gains despite signs that the COVID-19 pandemic may be leveling off in parts of the world. Markets also kept an eye on further planned U.S. measures to help dampen the recessionary impact of shutdowns and business closures intended to limit the epidemic. Eagerness to buy beaten-down stocks on Wall Street faded in afternoon trade, even as investors focused on signs of a slowdown in new daily deaths and infections from COVID-19, the deadly disease that was first identified in Wuhan, China in December. “Stocks are giving the impression that the market may have moved too far too quickly,” Robert Pavlik, chief investment strategist at SlateStone Wealth, told MarketWatch. “With yesterday’s major point gain and lack of a follow through today, there is a thinking that some money is being taken off the table.” Meanwhile, Italy reported the lowest number of new coronavirus infections in nearly three weeks, after China reported no new deaths, though deaths in Spain rose after declining for four consecutive days. Reports also suggested that U.S. lawmakers are hashing out a so-called Phase 4 relief package for next month that could be worth more than $1 trillion, to help prop up the economy and assist workers and small companies, according to Bloomberg. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday he wanted another $250 billion from Congress to help shore up small businesses. Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said a bipartisan effort to further aid could be put to a vote Thursday, potentially expanding aid to employers and their workers during the shutdown. These factors have offered some guarded optimism to bullish investors still wrestling with fallout from the pandemic, which has pushed domestic and international economies into recession. Nick Not: we are in the early stages of the biggest bull market ever