Stocks closed slightly lower Tuesday after a day of meandering as investors parsed conflicting signals on the economy and testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
The Fed chief told Congress that the U.S. economy should keep expanding at a solid, though somewhat slower pace this year, and reassured markets that the central bank would be “patient” in raising interest rates.
On Tuesday:
The S&P 500 dropped 2.21 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,793.90.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 33.97 points, or 0.1 percent, to 26,057.98.
The Nasdaq composite slid 5.16 points, or 0.1 percent, to 7,549.30.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies gave up 11.32 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,577.48.
For the week:
The S&P 500 is up 1.23 points, or 0.04 percent.
The Dow is up 26.17 points, or 0.1 percent.
The Nasdaq is up 21.76 points, or 0.3 percent.
The Russell 2000 is down 12.58 points, or 0.8 percent.
For the year:
The S&P 500 is up 287.05 points, or 11.5 percent.
The Dow is up 2,730.52 points, or 11.7 percent.
The Nasdaq is up 914.02 points, or 13.8 percent.
The Russell 2000 is up 228.92 points, or 17 percent.
