S&P 500 ends flat as Fed chair says inflation to rise

The Dow fell 44.14 points, or 0.10%, to 42,171.66, the S&P 500 lost 1.85 points, or 0.03%, to 5,980.87 and the Nasdaq gained 25.18 points, or 0.13%, to 19,546.27.

NEW YORK: The S&P 500 ended nearly flat on Wednesday, giving back earlier gains after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said inflation in goods prices is expected to go up over the summer as President Donald Trump's tariffs work their way to consumers.

The US central bank left interest rates unchanged, as expected. In the statement, policymakers maintained expectations for two cuts this year, but a rising minority expected no rate cuts at all. Also, they slightly slowed the expected pace to a single quarter-percentage-point cut in each of 2026 and 2027.