US stocks fall as investors weigh Powell's comments

US stocks finished lower on Tuesday, breaking a three-session string of record closing highs, as US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell said the US central bank needs to balance inflation concerns with a weakening job market in its coming interest rate decisions.

- 

The Nasdaq led declines, with shares of Nvidia falling 2.8% after rising in the previous session, when the chipmaker said it plans to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAl.

Amazon.com, Microsoft and Apple also were lower.

In comments Tuesday, Mr. Powell offered little hint of when he thinks the Fed might next cut interest rates, The Fed last week cut rates for the first time this year and indicated further cuts may be coming.

Meanwhile, the Fed last week lowered its target rate by 25 bps to the 4%-4.25% range, which was its first cut since December. This brought its total reductions since September 2024 to 125 bps.

Its “dot plot” showed projections of two more rate cuts this year.

US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell said on Tuesday the central bank needed to continue balancing the competing risks of high inflation and a weakening job market in coming interest rate decisions, even as his colleagues staked out arguments on both sides of the policy divide, Reuters reported.