(Sharecast News) - Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Wednesday as market participants digested comments made by Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell in front of Congress.
As of 1515 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.55% at 30,362.56 and the S&P 500 was 0.33% weaker at 3,752.20, while the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.08% firmer at 11,077.89.
The Dow opened 167.69 points lower on Wednesday, taking a bite out of gains recorded in the previous session when traders returned from the Juneteenth break in a slightly more positive mood.
Stocks headed south at the opening bell on Wednesday as investors turned their attention towards Fed chairman Jerome Powell, who kicked off two days of testimony before Congress, with the central bank head providing updates on the state of the US economy amid inflationary pressures not seen since in roughly half a century.
Powell's comments come a week after the central bank hiked interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point, its largest rate increase since 1994, in an effort to cool inflation,
Also in focus, analysts at Goldman Sachs warned that a recession was beginning to look more and more likely for the US economy, stating that risks were now "higher and more front-loaded".
"The main reasons are that our baseline growth path is now lower and that we are increasingly concerned that the Fed will feel compelled to respond forcefully to high headline inflation and consumer inflation expectations if energy prices rise further, even if activity slows sharply," said Goldman Sachs.
On the macro front, mortgage applications increased 4.2% in the seven days ended 17 June, according to the Mortgage Bankers' Association of America, a slight deceleration from the previous week's 6.6% rise. The purchase index rose 7.9%, while the refinancing rate fell 3.1% as the average contract rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose by 33 basis points to 5.98% - the highest since November 2008
In addition to Powell's testimony, Chicago Fed president Charles Evans, Richmond Fed president Barkin, and Philadelphia president Patrick Harker will all deliver speeches throughout the course of the day.
No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Wednesday.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Dow Jones - Risers
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $88.99 1.09%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $484.30 0.83%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $137.15 0.57%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $173.54 0.31%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $40.19 0.22%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $239.84 0.10%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $50.69 0.09%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $122.21 0.03%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $230.94 0.00%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $51.80 -5.73%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $147.53 -4.57%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $104.93 -3.45%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $189.79 -3.35%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $43.28 -1.96%
American Express Co. (AXP) $142.29 -1.71%
Boeing Co. (BA) $134.53 -1.62%
Visa Inc. (V) $192.39 -1.03%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $266.51 -1.00%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $136.51 -0.97%
S&P 500 - Risers
DaVita Inc (DVA) $78.45 3.16%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $37.76 3.13%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $3.75 2.18%
Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $95.05 1.97%
Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $66.92 1.93%
AbbVie Inc (ABBV) $146.02 1.78%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $173.19 1.33%
CIGNA Corp. (CI) $255.46 1.30%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $159.03 1.26%
Centene Corp. (CNC) $81.85 1.23%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $23.02 -7.53%
ConocoPhillips (COP) $92.52 -6.81%
Apache Corp. (APA) $37.67 -6.64%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $31.78 -6.61%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $56.60 -6.54%
Altria Group Inc. (MO) $42.85 -6.23%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $38.37 -6.13%
Halliburton Co. (HAL) $31.63 -5.72%
Eog Resources Inc. (EOG) $111.00 -5.65%
Hess Corp. (HES) $102.03 -5.30%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $37.76 3.13%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $80.47 2.65%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $3.40 2.41%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $173.19 1.33%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $159.03 1.26%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $23.11 0.78%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $73.67 0.72%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $22.02 0.64%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $440.09 0.60%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $60.16 0.57%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $61.62 -3.19%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $138.28 -2.33%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $121.61 -2.24%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $45.49 -2.17%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $43.28 -1.96%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $1,901.35 -1.86%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $55.80 -1.76%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $58.35 -1.68%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $93.61 -1.64%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $15.61 -1.58%