US close: Stocks tumble following Powell testimony
Wall Street stocks headed south on Tuesday as market participants digested testimony from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.72% at 32,856.46, while the S&P 500 slipped 1.53% to 3,986.37 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.25% firmer at 11,530.33.
The Dow closed 574.98 points lower on Tuesday, easily erasing gains recorded in the previous session.
Investors zeroed in on congressional testimony from Powell on Tuesday, with the head of the Federal Reserve keeping the door open to larger rate hikes, if needed, while pointing out that recent economic data had been stronger than expected. In remarks prepared for his speech before the US Senate's Banking Committee, Jerome Powell, conceded that warmer weather had played a hand in recent stronger readings for employment, consumption and inflation.
"Still, the breadth of the reversal along with revisions to the previous quarter suggests that inflationary pressures are running higher than expected at the time of our previous Federal Open Market Committee meeting," he added.
Elsewhere wholesale inventories decreased 0.40% month-on-month in January, in line with analysts' estimates. According to the Census Bureau, wholesale inventories slipped to $929.0bn in January, more than erasing the prior month's revised 0.1% increase to $932.9bn.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Dow Jones - Risers
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $111.29 0.15%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $183.32 -0.26%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $119.64 -0.48%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $59.97 -0.58%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $37.91 -0.63%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $154.09 -0.94%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $139.25 -1.00%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $48.91 -1.03%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $254.15 -1.06%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $34.14 -3.70%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $246.03 -3.09%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $346.08 -3.07%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $138.54 -2.94%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $228.72 -2.72%
3M Co. (MMM) $107.09 -2.58%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $290.70 -2.52%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $55.80 -2.29%
American Express Co. (AXP) $175.33 -2.09%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $137.52 -1.99%
S&P 500 - Risers
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $11.34 4.04%
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $54.01 2.99%
Perrigo Company plc (PRGO) $37.71 2.03%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $39.07 1.59%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $16.36 1.49%
Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) $48.47 1.27%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $82.11 1.17%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $116.88 1.01%
Kroger Co. (KR) $46.96 0.93%
H&R Block Inc. (HRB) $36.24 0.83%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $1.34 -7.64%
Dxc Technology Company (DXC) $26.47 -7.06%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $40.14 -6.06%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $3.11 -5.76%
Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) $18.66 -5.67%
Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $32.91 -5.62%
Svb Financial Group (SIVB) $267.39 -5.53%
M&T Bank Corp. (MTB) $144.20 -5.21%
Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) $34.29 -5.17%
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (CFG) $38.69 -5.10%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $11.34 4.04%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $16.36 1.49%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $116.88 1.01%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,264.91 0.69%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $526.04 0.50%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $485.15 0.43%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $82.11 0.17%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $126.76 0.13%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $0.00 0.00%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $0.00 0.00%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $4.06 -5.58%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $142.64 -4.60%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $51.99 -4.04%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $19.25 -3.85%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $20.10 -3.78%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $34.14 -3.70%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $208.46 -3.33%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $187.71 -3.15%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $83.80 -3.08%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $357.85 -3.05%