Technology and health care companies led U.S. stocks modestly higher in afternoon trading Tuesday, extending the market's solid gains from a day earlier.

Boeing weighed down the Dow Jones Industrial Average for a second day as shares in the aircraft maker fell amid safety concerns following another deadly crash involving its most popular plane.

Google's parent company Alphabet rose 1.8 percent and Botox maker Allergan rose 2.7 percent.

Boeing dragged down the industrial sector. Utilities and real estate stocks also lagged the market.

The gains this week have helped the market reclaim the momentum it had in January and February, when it posted the best two-month start to a year since 1991. Despite stocks posting their worst week since December last week, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are showing double-digits gains for the year so far, and the Dow is up by more than 9 percent.

Investors are still waiting for more details on any potential trade deal between the U.S. and China. Costly tariffs have hurt both nations and investors hope a deal can be struck to at least take some pressure off the global economy, which has shown signs of cooling off.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow fell 107 points, or 0.4 percent, to 25,543 as of 1:21 p.m. Eastern Time. The S&P 500 index gained 0.4 percent and the Nasdaq rose 0.6 percent.

BOEING GROUNDED: The airplane maker faced a second day of losses as more countries grounded its 737 Max 8 following a second deadly crash. The stock slid 7.5 percent.

Britain joined a growing number of countries to ground the plane. Australia and Singapore suspended all flights into or out of their countries. Airlines in China and Indonesia, Aeromexico, Brazil's Gol Airlines, India's Jet Airways and others have done the same.

The crash of the Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max 8 on Sunday killed 157 people. A similar Lion Air plane crashed in Indonesia in October, killing 189 people.

STYLISH NUMBERS: Personal styling service Stitch Fix surged 28.2 percent after blowing past analyst's expectations for the fourth-quarter.

The company, which sells clothing and apparel through its website, earned 12 cents per share while analysts expected 5 cents per share. It recorded an 18 percent increase in clients during the quarter and expects up to a 27 percent rise in revenue this year.

BAD SPORT: Dick's Sporting Goods' plunged 10.1 percent after the company reported a slide in sales during the fourth quarter and a weak forecast. A key sales figure fell 2.2 percent in the period, worse than what analysts were expecting.

OVERSEAS: Stocks in Europe were mixed over investor concerns that Britain faces a messy exit from the European Union.

Britain is set to leave the 27-member European Union on March 29. The House of Commons is scheduled to vote on a deal later Tuesday. But Attorney General Geoffrey Cox dealt a blow to the recent proposed deal with a legal opinion. The two-page opinion said the U.K. could still not extract itself from the deal unilaterally.