US open: Stocks trade slightly lower as Powell beings testimony
Wall Street's main market gauges traded lower as investors kept a careful eye on Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell's testimony.
At 1526 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading down by 0.47% at 33,967.65, the S&P 500 was off by 0.47% to 4,368.26 and the Nasdaq Composite was lower by 0.93% to 13,542.38.
In his testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives', Powell reiterated that "nearly all" members of the Federal Open Market Committee were expecting somewhat further rate hikes.
He also justified the previous week's decision not to hike rates again as prudent given the rapid rise in rates since 2022.
Not hiking would also give the economy some time to adapt, adding that it was too soon to see the consequences of the recent stress in the banking sector, but that the July FOMC meeting would be "live", meaning that a rate hike was possible.
In the background, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was climbing seven basis points to 3.791%.
In equity markets, FedEx was slightly in the red after its quarterly revenues and guidance fell short of expectations.
Winnebago on the other hand was little changed following the release of its third-quarter results.
No major economic releases were scheduled for Wednesday.
Dow Jones - Risers
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $243.77 1.09%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $154.69 0.66%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $148.99 0.56%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $472.00 0.56%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $52.17 0.48%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $294.43 0.47%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $61.40 0.24%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $109.76 0.20%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $154.44 0.18%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $110.24 0.01%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.15 -2.41%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $213.15 -1.76%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $134.05 -1.40%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $88.82 -1.04%
Boeing Co. (BA) $210.17 -1.04%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $334.70 -0.99%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $51.09 -0.89%
American Express Co. (AXP) $168.15 -0.74%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $328.87 -0.56%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $184.11 -0.49%
S&P 500 - Risers
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $140.57 2.95%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $15.86 2.85%
Apache Corp. (APA) $34.44 2.81%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $80.02 2.74%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $938.15 2.25%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $15.53 2.10%
United Rentals Inc. (URI) $415.24 2.02%
Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) $48.18 1.95%
Halliburton Co. (HAL) $32.08 1.91%
Deere & Co. (DE) $415.62 1.87%
S&P 500 - Fallers
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $2.00 -5.45%
Teleflex Inc. (TFX) $241.78 -4.43%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $114.92 -3.37%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $0.53 -3.10%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $426.14 -2.73%
Nasdaq Inc (NDAQ) $50.28 -2.60%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.15 -2.41%
Digital Realty Trust (DLR) $102.69 -2.11%
Sba Communications Corp. (SBAC) $219.91 -2.09%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $117.42 -2.00%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $140.57 2.95%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $80.02 2.74%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $938.15 2.25%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $453.30 1.39%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $35.18 1.38%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $488.78 1.36%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $140.78 1.26%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $39.67 1.13%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $57.28 0.93%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $78.39 0.80%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.88 -3.23%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $426.14 -2.73%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.15 -2.41%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $268.38 -2.21%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $117.42 -2.00%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $105.58 -1.60%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $121.35 -1.42%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $856.00 -1.39%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $122.15 -1.37%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $6.54 -1.36%