The S&P 500 and Nasdaq edged lower in afternoon trading today, led by losses in Apple shares, but gains consumer discretionary shares limited the decline.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 6.64 points, or 0.04 percent, to 18,215.83, the S&P 500 lost 2.34 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,113.14 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.67 points, or 0.07 percent, to 4,964.46.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s testimony to a House of Representatives committee provided few clues for investors on the timing of an interest rate hike.
Across the Atlantic, European shares edged lower today as mixed corporate results halted a rally that had propelled both Britain’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX to record highs.
The benchmark FTSEurofirst 300 index closed down 0.1 percent after six days of unbroken gains. It has risen 12.7 percent since the end of 2014.
Meanwhile, Japanese stocks snapped a five-day winning streak today as investors grew cautious that the market was becoming overbought, but losses were limited by US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s message of policy flexibility.
The Nikkei share average ended 0.1 percent lower at 18,585.20 points. It bounced between positive and negative territory during the session.
The broader Topix was flat at 1,507.62, with 2.2 billion shares changing hands, the lowest level in more than two weeks.
The JPX-Nikkei Index 400 shed 0.1 percent to 13,665.59.
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