US equity indexes traded mixed while government bond yields rose after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated patience in easing policy and President Donald Trump unveiled punitive import duties.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.4% to 19,635.5, with the S&P 500 down 0.1% to 6,058.8 after midday on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose less than 0.1% to 44,501.8, clawing back all its decline earlier in the session. Consumer discretionary led the decliners, while materials and energy were among the top gainers intraday.

The Federal Open Market Committee does not need to rush to lower rates, Powell said Tuesday in prepared remarks to the Senate Banking Committee, repeating language from other Fed officials over the last week.

"With our policy stance now significantly less restrictive than it had been and the economy remaining strong, we do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance," Powell said. "We know that reducing policy restraint too fast or too much could hinder progress on inflation. At the same time, reducing policy restraint too slowly or too little could unduly weaken economic activity and employment."

Powell will appear before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday following January's US consumer price inflation data. Fed policymakers cited elevated inflation as one of the main factors for leaving the target rate unchanged in the 4.25% to 4.5% range last month. The probability of the FOMC extending its rates pause to March jumped to 77% by Tuesday afternoon, from 63% a week ago, mainly at the expense of a cut in the fed funds rate, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

On Monday, Trump unveiled a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports into the US, effective March 4, according to a note from Scotiabank Tuesday. Canada and the European Union intend to respond in 'firm' fashion, Derek Holt, head of capital markets economics at Scotiabank, said in the note. Shares of Steel Dynamics (STLD), US Steel (X), and Alcoa (AA) were up by at least 1% intraday.

Most US Treasury yields rose intraday, with the 10-year up 4.4 basis points to 4.54% and the two-year climbed 2.8 basis points to 4.3%.

In US earnings news, Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) Q4 revenue missed the average analyst estimate compiled by FactSet, and its outlook for sales for Q1 and the full year 2025 also lagged market expectations. Shares plunged nearly 15% intraday, the worst performer on the S&P 500.

Coca-Cola (KO) reported better-than-expected Q4 results Tuesday amid gains in volume and pricing and projected earnings and organic revenue growth this year. Shares jumped 3.6% intraday, the top performer on the Dow.

Marriott International (MAR) reported a decline in Q4 adjusted earnings, and its Q1 and full-year 2025 outlook for earnings lagged analysts' estimates. Shares dropped 5,3% intraday, among the steepest decliners on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures jumped 1.4% to $73.29 a barrel.

"With the US bearing down on Iranian exports and sanctions still biting into Russian flows, Asian crude grades remain firm and underpin the rally from yesterday," PVM oil analyst John Evans told Reuters.

Gold futures fell 0.2% to $2,929.61, retreating from a record high Monday. Silver declined 0.6% to $32.31.