US stocks fell on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech to Congress.
Just after 11:00 AM ET, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) was near session lows, down 0.8%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was down 0.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was down 0.7%. %.
Powell will give his semi-annual testimony to Congress in the next two days, appearing before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday and meeting with the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday. In testimony on Tuesday, he spoke about the central bank's campaign to curb inflation.
"Recent economic data has been stronger than expected, suggesting that the final interest rate may be higher than previously expected," Powell said. If the data backbone shows that there is a need for faster hardening, we will be ready to increase the speed of the acceleration.
Responding to questions from lawmakers, Powell said the Fed's rate hike has yet to be fully felt in the economy.
Markets are counting on at least two more 0.25% rate hikes by the central bank over the next two meetings; Investors began the year expecting the Fed to end its rate hike campaign in early February.
Powell's comments on Tuesday opened the door to a higher federal funds rate and a faster hike. According to CME Group data, Powell's comments prompted traders to give a higher chance of a 0.50% increase, compared to a 0.25% increase expected later this month.
The Fed will kick off its next two-day policy meeting in two weeks with a key announcement on the afternoon of March 22.
Elsewhere, WTI crude was little changed on Tuesday morning, up about 0.5% and trading around $80 a barrel. The 10-year Treasury yield, which has been the market's focus in recent weeks, fell below 4% early Tuesday.
In terms of earnings, Dick's Sporting Goods ( DKS ) shares of the sporting goods retailer rose 6 percent after this morning's results.
According to Bloomberg data, the company gave full-year earnings per share guidance that was more than expected by $1. Dick's expects to earn $12.90 to $13.80 per share in fiscal 2023, up from $12.04 the company earned last year.
The company's fourth-quarter same-store sales rose 5.3 percent, and CEO Ed Stack told investors that the company's inventory level at the beginning of 2023 is "very good."
Elsewhere, Snap ( SNAP ) shares rose more than 9% on Monday and added another 4% early Tuesday, as Bloomberg attributed the rally to optimism over the state's ban on TikTok.
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