Wall Street Live: US stocks mixed as investors eye more comments from Jerome Powell
US stock indices were mixed on Wednesday amidfragile ceasefirebetween Israel and Iran, and investors awaited more comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
At 10:15 AM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 45.39 points, or 0.11%, to 43,043.63, the S&P 500 gained 6.94 points, or 0.11%, to 6,099.12 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 72.26 points, or 0.36%, to 19,984.48.
At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 41.3 points, or 0.10%, to 43,130.33. The S&P 500 rose 12.0 points, or 0.20%, to 6,104.23, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 101.4 points, or 0.51%, to 20,013.947.
Powell in his congressional testimony on Tuesday emphasized the Fed’s wait-and-watch approach to interest rates as tariff-led price pressures kick in. However, he also said a lower-than-expected inflation data or weakness in the labor market would push the central bank to cut sooner.
Market participants’ focus was also on a NATO summit that signed off on a sharp increase to military spending by the United States and its allies.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.32% from 4.30% late on Tuesday.
Gainers and Losers
Cryptocurrency stocks jumped as the bitcoin price continued to gain. Coinbase Global rose 7% and Robinhood Markets added 4%.
Shares of FedEx dropped 2.9% after the delivery company forecast quarterly profit below expectations.
Among megacap stocks, Tesla shed 4.3% as its European sales declined for the fifth month. Nvidia surged 2.6%.
General Mills stock lost nearly 3% after the packaged food company forecast annual profit below estimates.
Bullion
Gold prices fell on Wednesday as a truce between Iran and Israel reduced safe-haven demand.
Spot gold edged down 0.3% at $3,314.45 per ounce at 0934 AM EDT (1334 GMT). US gold futures fell 0.2% to $3,328.10.
Spot silver shed 0.3% to $35.79, platinum lost 0.8% to $1,305.74, while palladium dropped 1.8% to $1,046.73.
Crude oil
Oil prices rebounded on Wednesdayas traders assessed whether the Israel-Iran ceasefire would endure.
Brent North Sea Crude rose 0.6% at $66.58 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate added 0.9% at $64.92 per barrel.
