Wall Street closed mixed on Tuesday, backed by consumer staples and energy stocks. Investors carefully weighed in Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s measured comments at the Senate Committee. One of the three most widely followed indexes closed the session in the green, one closed in the red, while the other remained virtually unchanged.

How Did the Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) added 0.3%, or 123.24 points, to close at 44,593.65. Seventeen components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, while 13 ended in negative.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 70.41 points, or 0.4%, to close at 19,643.86.

The S&P 500 gained 2.06 points, remaining virtually unchanged, to close at 6,068.50. Nine of the 11 broad sectors of the benchmark index closed in the green. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP), the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) and the Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) jumped 1%, 0.8% and 0.6%, respectively, while the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) retracted 1.1%.

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) increased 1.3% to 16.02. A total of 15.4 billion shares were traded on Tuesday, higher than the last 20-session average of 14.9 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners by a 1.1-to-1 ratio on the S&P 500.

Powell’s Comments at Senate Committee is Measured

On Monday, Jerome Powell appeared before Congress and vouched for the strength of the current U.S. economy, even as he deferred questions about tariffs. “We are in a pretty good place with this economy," Powell said, emphasizing that the central bank was in no hurry to commit to further rate cuts but was not averse to the idea if the need arises.

When asked about the chances of higher inflation seeping into the U.S. economy as a fallout of President Trump’s tariff moves, Powell said that higher inflation "is a possible outcome which will depend very much on specific facts" of what goods are taxed and by how much, he said. "In some cases it does not reach the consumer much, in some cases it does.”

As a result of this claim of the economy being strong and simultaneously weighing Powell’s reticence in answering questions about the Trump administration’s policies, Wall Street had a mixed session. Consequently, shares of General Mills, Inc. GIS and ConocoPhillips COP gained 2.2% each. Both currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Oil Prices Continue to Rise Despite Trump’s Tariffs

On Tuesday, oil prices rose to a two-week high as sanctions on Russian and Iranian oil supplies and escalating tension in the Middle East outweighed worries that trade tariffs would spike inflation. Brent crude rose $1.13, or 1.5%, to settle at $77.00/barrel, while WTI crude rose $1.00, or 1.4%, to settle at $73.32.

No economic data was released on Tuesday.

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