U.S. stocks end mixed amid Powell remarks

Xinhua
24 Feb 2021, 04:19 GMT+10

NEW YORK, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks finished mixed on Tuesday as investors digested the testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on the economic outlook.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 15.66 points, or 0.05 percent, to 31,537.35. The S&P 500 was up 4.87 points, or 0.13 percent, to 3,881.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 67.85 points, or 0.50 percent, to 13,465.20.

Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with energy up 1.61 percent, outpacing the rest. Consumer discretionary slid 0.49 percent, the worst-performing group.

U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly lower with seven of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on a downbeat note.

Powell told lawmakers on Tuesday that U.S. economic recovery remains uneven and far from complete, and the path ahead is highly uncertain.

Noting that the weakness concentrated in sectors most adversely affected by the resurgence of the virus, the Fed chief said ongoing vaccinations "offer hope for a return to more normal conditions" later this year.

The economy remains "a long way" from the central bank's employment and inflation goals, and it is likely to "take some time" for substantial further progress to be achieved, Powell said at a hearing before the Senate Banking Committee.

These remarks came as inflation fears have mounted on Wall Street. Tech mega-caps that fueled the market's first bounce from pandemic lows have seen intense selling recently amid inflation worries.

On Monday, U.S. equities closed mostly lower with the tech-heavy Nasdaq down nearly 2.5 percent.

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