Wall Street today: US stocks fall after Jerome Powell’s comments

US stock indices fell on Wednesday after comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

On Tuesday, Powell had characterized equities as "fairly highly valued."

Investors are currently approaching the market with caution as the Federal Reserve faces a challenging task. The central bank is attempting to find a delicate balance between two major economic concerns: mitigating the risks of inflation and addressing the signs of a weakening labor market. This balancing act is a key focus for financial markets as the Fed's decisions will have a significant impact on the future direction of the economy.

At 12 PM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 155.77 points, or 0.34%, to 46,137.30, the S&P 500 lost 28.83 points, or 0.43%, to 6,628.09, and the Nasdaq Composite shed 127.36 points, or 0.56%, to 22,446.11.

As of 10:30 AM Eastern Time, the S&P 500 was virtually unchanged, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite was flat.

As of 9:35 AM Eastern Time, the S&P 500 edged up by 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.1% higher.

At the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 76.2 points, or 0.16%, to 46,368.94. The S&P 500 rose 12.9 points, or 0.19%, to 6,669.79, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 82.5 points, or 0.37%, to 22,656.015.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.13% from 4.12% late on Tuesday.

Gainers and Losers

Lithium Americas stock jumped more than 98% after reports that the Trump administration was in talks to take an equity stake in the Vancouver-based mining company as part of a renegotiation of a government loan for a Nevada mining project.

Micron Technology stock dropped 1.8% despite the company reported better quarterly profit and revenue.

Cintas stock fell 1.8% despite the company reporting slightly better quarterly earnings.

Freeport-McMoRan shares tumbled 10.6% after the miner said it expects sales of copper to be 4% lower in the third quarter than it had earlier forecast.

Bullion

Gold prices were flat near a record high on Wednesday.

As of 09:40 AM ET (1340 GMT), spot gold was steady at $3,765.02 per ounce. US gold futures for December delivery fell 0.5% to $3,798.20.

Among other metals, spot silver rose 0.3% to $44.15 per ounce, platinum gained 0.1% to $1,479.34 and palladium added 0.8% to $1,228.85.

Crude Oil

Oil prices surged on Wednesday as an industry report showed US crude inventories fell last week.

Brent futures were up 97 cents, or 1.4%, to $68.60 a barrel at 1321 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 99 cents, or 1.6%, to $64.40.