Dow, S&P Advance as Powell Urges Caution on Rates

Stocks were little changed on Tuesday as investors digested cautious commentary from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on interest rates. Concerns remain over the direction of the economy amid U.S. tariffs and the possible escalation of a global trade war.The Dow Jones Industrials climbed 123.18 points, to 44,593.59The S&P 500 edged forward 2.07 points to 6,068.51The tech-heavy NASDAQ dipped 70.41 points to 19,643.86 Apple gained more than 2.5% after The Information reported that the company is partnering with Alibaba to develop AI features for iPhone users in China, curbing the market’s losses.Powell earlier addressed the Senate Banking Committee and signaled the Fed does not need to move quickly to ease monetary policy.Powell’s testimony — which will be followed by his appearance before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday — comes at a volatile time in Washington with President Donald Trump favoring tariffs against U.S. trading partners and with mixed messages coming from the administration on its approach to the Fed.Trump on Monday signed new tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to the U.S. The European Union responded by saying it would retaliate with levies of its own if the U.S. tacks on tariffs against products from the country bloc. its own if the U.S. tacks on tariffs against products from the country bloc.Investors are looking ahead to fresh inflation data in the form of the latest consumer price index report due out Wednesday, while the producer price index will go out on Thursday.Prices for the 10-year Treasury retreated slightly, raising yields to 4.54% from Monday’s 4.50%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.Oil prices tacked on 92 cents to $73.24 U.S. a barrel. Prices for gold tailed off $6.90 an ounce to $2,927.50 U.S.