Wall Street today: US stocks slip, Jerome Powell’s testimony in focus

US stocks slipped on Tuesday, as investors awaited a testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for insight on interest rates and trade tariffs, and inflation data.

Powell is set to testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesda. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for January will be released at 8:30 am ET tomorrow.

At 09:46 am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 108.74 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 44,361.67, the S&P 500 lost 14.79 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 6,051.65 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 55.41 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 19,658.86.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 69.0 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 44,401.38. The S&P 500 fell 17.1 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 6,049.32, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 112.2 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 19,602.112.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.53 per cent from 4.50 per cent late on Monday. The 2-year Treasury yield edged up to 4.29 per cent from 4.28 per cent.

Gainers and losers

Stocks of steelmakers Cleveland-Cliffs and Steel Dynamics rose 2.1 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively, a day after Trump announced steel and aluminum levies.

Aluminum Century Aluminum gained 9.9 per cent.

Megacap stocks such as Microsoft, Meta Platforms, and Tesla were down between 0.4 per cent and 0.9 per cent. Apple shares rose about 1 per cent after a report said it was partnering with Alibaba to develop and roll out artificial intelligence features for iPhone users in China.

Fidelity National Information Services stock tumbled 16.1 per cent after the company forecast first quarter profit below estimates.

Coca-Cola advanced 3.6 per cent as the beverage maker beat fourth quarter revenue estimates.

Phillips 66 stock rose 3.8 per cent after activist Elliott Investment Management said it had built a stake of more than $2.5 billion in the oil refiner.

DuPont de Nemours added 4.8 per cent after the industrial materials maker raised its 2025 profit forecast on strong demand for electronics.

Bullion

Gold prices slipped on Tuesday as investors booked profits following a record high. Spot gold fell 0.4 per cent to $2,896.53 per ounce as of 08:47 am ET (1347 GMT). US gold futures fell 0.4 per cent to $2,923.50. Spot silver fell 1.6 per cent to $31.53 per ounce,

Crude oil

Oil prices extended gains on Tuesday amid concerns over Russian and Iranian oil supply.

Brent crude futures were up $1.20, or 1.6 per cent, at $77.06 a barrel by 1409 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.11, or 1.5 per cent, to $73.43.