NEW YORK, June 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell underscored the central bank's commitment to curb inflation and acknowledged the risk of a recession.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 47.12 points, or 0.15 percent, to 30,483.13. The S&P 500 fell 4.90 points, or 0.13 percent, to 3,759.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 16.22 points, or 0.15 percent, to 11,053.08.
Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with energy and materials down 4.19 percent and 1.29 percent, respectively, leading the laggards. Real estate and health care rose 1.55 percent and 1.42 percent, respectively, the two best-performing groups.
In his testimony to U.S. Congress on Wednesday, Powell said that the central bank is trying to bring inflation down without inflicting too much damage, but the Fed's aggressive rate hikes could tip the U.S. economy into recession.
"We are strongly committed to bringing inflation back down, and we are moving expeditiously to do so," the Fed chief told lawmakers.
Powell also said that the Fed is not trying to provoke a recession by rate hikes, but it may be a possibility.
His remarks came one week after the U.S. central bank delivered the largest interest rate hike since 1994 in an effort to combat inflation that is running at a four-decade high.
