U.S. stocks are muted as Powell makes second day of Congressional testimony

By Liz Moyer

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks were muted as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell prepared to appear for his second day of Congressional testimony.

At 10:40 ET (15:40 GMT) the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 28 points, or 0.1%, while the S&P 500 was up 0.2% and the NASDAQ Composite was up 0.2%

Powell said Tuesday that the Fed was prepared to raise the pace of tightening if the economic data supported it. That is leading some futures traders to bet on a half-percentage point hike when the Fed meets later this month.

The Fed might also have to raise rates higher than expected to tame inflation, Powell said Tuesday. That was enough to send the major stock indexes down more than 1% each. 

Powell is set to appear in the House Financial Services Committee at 10:00 ET.

ADP’s report on private sector payrolls said employers added 242,000 in February, beating expectations and adding to worries that the tight labor market is helping to convince the Fed that interest rates need to move higher. A broader take on the labor market for February is due out from the government on Friday.

The JOLTs job opening reading was 10.8 million, higher than the 10.5 million expected.

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) shares rose 2.2% after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) increased its stake in the oil company to about 22.2%.

Shares of Crowdstrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD) rose 1.6% after the cybersecurity firm reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings.

Oil fell. Crude Oil WTI Futures were down 0.6% to $77.12 a barrel, while Brent Oil Futures were down 0.2% to $83.12 a barrel. Gold Futures were up 0.3% to $1824.