Stocks fall, ending Dow's 5-day win streak

The Dow Jones industrial average paused Tuesday after a five-session winning streak drove the blue-chip stock gauge to its highest levels since early January.

At the 4 p.m. ET close, the blue-chip Dow stood 110 points lower, a 0.6% decline. Hit harder were the broader Standard & Poor's 500 stock index, which lost 1.1%, and the Nasdaq composite, which slid 1.3%.

Hurting sentiment on Wall Street was February export data out of China, which tumbled more than 25%, its biggest dip in more than five years. The weak data point reminded investors that the slowdown in the world's second biggest economy remains an issue for global growth.

Following Monday's rally, the Dow headed into today's session down just 2% for the year after a steep drop earlier in 2016. The blue chip index is still down nearly 7% from its record close back in May 2015.

Dow looks to erase 2016 nightmare on Wall Street

The rebound has been driven by a drop in fear levels on Wall Street. The odds of an imminent recession in the U.S. have come down sharply amid recent data on the economy and jobs that suggest the economy is still growing.

A rebound in the price of U.S.-produced crude has also enabled the stock market to stabilize and turn higher. But oil also slipped today as U.S. crude fell 2.9% to $36.82.

Still, risks to the outlook remain, as witnessed by China's continued troubles, despite proposed moves over the weekend by Beijing to get the economy back on track. China set a target of 6.5% to 7% growth for the full year, a move that acknowledges the challenges it faces to keep growth strong after years of super-strong growth.

The negative news on Chinese exports hurt stocks in Asia. Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 0.8% and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dipped 0.7%. The Shanghai composite in mainland China rebounded from an earlier 3% plunge to close up 0.14%.

European stocks were trading lower. The broad Stoxx Europe 600 index was off 1%, Germany's DAX was down 0.9% and the CAC 40 in Paris was 0.9% lower.

Adam Shell on Twitter: @adamshell.