Investing.com – U.S. stocks closed mixed on Tuesday as a tech sector rebound led by Apple failed to revive risk-on sentiment amid comments from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen who warned against moving too slowly on interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower at 22,284.32. The S&P 500 closed 0.01% higher while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6380.16, up 0.15%.
In what was a busy day on the economic calendar investors had to contend with a pair of disappointing economic reports and speeches from several Fed members including Fed chair Janet Yellen who reaffirmed the central bank’s view that raising rates gradually was the most appropriate policy amid uncertainty over inflation.
The Commerce Department said on Tuesday new home sales decreased 3.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 560,000 units last month, which was the lowest level since December 2016.
Economists had forecast new home sales rising 3.3% to a pace of 588,000 units last month.
In a report, the Conference Board, a market research group, said its index of consumer confidence decreased to 119.8 this month from a reading of 120.4 in August.
In corporate news, shares of Apple rose nearly 2% spurring a rebound in the tech sector, which helped push the tech-heavy Nasdaq to close positive for the session.
Shares of Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), meanwhile, jumped 2% in after market trade after the retailer delivered a mixed bag of results as earnings topped expectations while revenues fell short.
'Bulls and Bears' on Wall Street
The top Dow gainers for the session: Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) up 1.7%, Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) up 0.9% and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) up 0.8%
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) down 1.9%, DowDuPont Inc (NYSE:DWDP) down 1.4% and Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) down 0.9%, were among the worst Dow performers of the session.