Fed chair Powell did not signal any tilt toward a September cut. That lower the expectations and ultimately led to stocks giving up earlier gains. The NASDAQ index did rally into the close after falling into negative territory. It is closing higher.

For the S&P index, it fell modestly and was down for the second consecutive day after closing at record levels. The Dow industrial average fell as did the small-cap Russell 2000.

  • Dow industrial average fell -171.71 points or -0.3% at 44461.28
  • S&P index-7.96 or -0.12% at 6362.90
  • NASDAQ index rose 31.38 points or 0.15% at 21129.67
  • Russell 2000 fell -10.56 points or -0.47% at 2232.39.
Source: Forex Live