TSLA - S&P Churns as Investors Take in Powell's Comments

Stocks churned as Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell noted progress on inflation, but reiterated that the central bank was not quite ready to cut rates. S&P 500 was pulled in different directions as Tesla shares jumped and Nvidia shares declined.

The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 55.25 points to begin Tuesday at 39,114.27.

The S&P 500 index dipped 1.77 points to 5,473.32.

The NASDAQ poked up 8.1 points to 17,887,40.

“We've made quite a bit of progress and in bringing inflation back down to our target,” Powell said at a central banking forum.

“We want to be more confident that inflation is moving sustainably down toward 2% before we start the process of reducing type or policies of loosening policy,” he added.

Tesla shares helped support the S&P 500 as Elon Musk's electric vehicle company reported better-than-expected deliveries for the second quarter. The stock, which had a rough first half, jumped 7%.

Nvidia shares fell nearly 2%, weighing on the S&P 500, as investors questioned whether the artificial intelligence darling could continue its big year. The shares are up 147% so far in 2024. Drugmaker Eli Lilly, another winner from the first half of the year, saw shares decline 2.9%.

Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell slightly, raising yields to 4.44% from Monday's 4.48%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices subtracted two cents at $83.36 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices deleted $2.90 to $2,336