US open: Stocks mixed as Powell begins two-day testimony

dl wall street wall st new york city new york stock exchange nyse dow jones nasdaq street sign nyc united states usa america pb — Sharecast / Alessandro D Andrea via Pixabay

Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start early on Tuesday as Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell headed to Washington DC to testify before the Senate Banking Committee.

As of 1515 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.43% at 39,175.60, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.22% to 5,584.92 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.16% stronger at 18,497.77.

The Dow opened 169.19 points lower on Tuesday, extending losses recorded in the previous session.

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell told Congress that the central bank wants to be "more confident" that inflation was moving sustainably toward 2% before it starts the process of reducing or loosening fiscal policy. His testimony will continue on Wednesday.

On the macro slate, the National Federation of Independent Business' business optimism index rose to 91.5 in June, up from 90.5 a month earlier, for the highest reading since the start of 2024. The reading came in ahead of expectations for a slowdown to 89.5 but remained well and truly below the long-term average of 98.

NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg said: "Main Street remains pessimistic about the economy for the balance of the year. "Increasing compensation costs has led to higher prices all around. Meanwhile, no relief from inflation is in sight for small business owners as they prepare for the uncertain months ahead."

Still to come, Federal Reserve governor Michelle Bowman will deliver a speech at 1830 BST.

In the corporate space, BP shares were sharply lower after the energy giant warned investors that it would be faced with an impairment charge of between $1.0bn and $2.0bn. It also warned of lower refining margins in Q2.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

American Express Co. (AXP) $234.66 0.00%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $46.06 0.00%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $125.71 0.00%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $329.06 0.00%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $166.50 0.00%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $52.78 0.00%
Visa Inc. (V) $266.40 0.00%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $489.66 0.00%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $339.46 0.00%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $205.17 0.00%