Investing.com -- U.S. stocks were mixed in Wednesday's session, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Composite index closed lower following a late sell-off in the final minutes.
The major indices appeared to be headed for a relatively flat session after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen soothed markets by providing few indications on the timing of the Fed's next interest rate move in guarded testimony before Capitol Hill. While Yellen noted on Wednesday that widespread market volatility and a weak dollar continued to pose growth risks to the U.S. economy, she appeared confident that inflation will move back toward the Fed's targeted goal of 2%, while reiterating that the labor market is close to full employment. Yellen's semi-annual testimony before the House Financial Services Committee could be interpreted as neither dovish, nor hawkish, providing further ambiguity on whether the Fed will raise short-term interest rates before the end of the summer.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 99.64 or 0.62% to 15,914.74, while the NASDAQ Composite index ticked up 14.83 or 0.35% to 4,283.59, halting a four-day losing streak. The Dow fell by more than 135 points in the final hour of trading. U.S. stocks have come under intense downside pressure in recent days from crashing oil prices, as well as a rout among banking stocks in Europe that has dragged down equity markets and government bond yields throughout the euro zone.
The S&P 500, meanwhile, inched down 0.35 or 0.02% to 1,851.86, as seven of 10 sectors closed in the red. Stocks in the Technology, Health Care and Consumer Services sectors led, while stocks in the Energy and Basic Materials industries lagged each falling by more than 0.5%.
Investors also awaited the release of quarterly earnings from several prominent companies on Wednesday after the bell. A host of large-cap companies including: Twitter Inc (N:TWTR), Tesla Motors Inc (O:TSLA), Whole Foods Market Inc (O:WFM) and Cisco Systems Inc (O:CSCO) were set to announce fourth quarter results after the close of trading, as earnings season continued to wind down.
The top performer on the Dow was Nike Inc (N:NKE), which added 1.73 to 3.11% to 57.41. Shares in the athletic apparel giant have rallied after slumping last week when a slew of investors departed from their positions in high-valuation stocks in favor of higher divided yields. The worst performer was Walt Disney Company (N:DIS), which plunged 3.47 or 3.76% to 88.85, in spite of posting record quarterly profits on Tuesday after the close. Investors remain concerned with ESPN's long-term growth potential, amid increased likelihood for massive cord-cutting in the media industry.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Akamai Technologies Inc (O:AKAM), which added 8.39 or 21.20% to 47.96 . On Tuesday after the bell, the content delivery network and cloud-services provider unveiled major changes with its organizational structure aimed at accelerating its productivity and growth opportunities in the near future. The worst performer was Viacom Inc (O:VIA), which lost 1.48 or 4.50% to 31.38, as media stocks fell across the board following the weak guidance from Disney.
Akamai Technologies (O:AKAM) was also the top performer on the S&P 500, just above Williams Companies Inc (N:WMB), which added 0.86 or 7.26% to 12.85. On Monday, shares in Williams Companies (N:WMB) fell sharply, amid increased speculation that a proposed merger with Energy Transfer Equity could be on the verge of collapsing. The worst performer was Hormel Foods Corporation (N:HRL), which fell 41.19 or 49.71% to 41.67 after the company completed a 2-for-1 stock split authorized last month. Shares in Hormel Foods also moved lower, following reports the company issued a recall of cans containing its Dinty Moore beef stew on Tuesday. The recall stems from concerns that the cans may be contaminated with "extraneous materials." after parts of a flashlight were found in a production area during a routine inspection.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 1,624-1,426 margin.