Closing Bell USA: Fed Chair Powell Cuts Confidence, Salesforce, ASML Strong, Tesla, Apple Weak

US stocks left trading little changed on Tuesday. The leading index Dow Jones ended up 0.2 percent, while the S&P 500 lost 0.2 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 ended at 17,713.66 points, so it was almost unchanged. Investors are losing hope that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates soon.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has dampened hopes of imminent interest rate cuts, given continued rising inflation in the US. “The latest data doesn't give us much confidence,” Powell said in Washington on Tuesday, referring to recent inflation data that suggested the central bank would maintain tight monetary policy as long as necessary if the rate of inflation remains persistently high. Powell said it may take longer than expected to initiate a turnaround in interest rates.

In the end, top winners on the Dow were UnitedHealth Group shares, which gained 5.2 percent, followed by Salesforce (plus 1.7 percent) and Boeing (plus 1.6 percent).

At the close on the Dow, shares of Johnson & Johnson were down 2.1 percent. According to the latest figures from RBC Bank, the pharmaceutical and consumer goods maker's medical technology division fell slightly short of expectations. Apple also came under pressure again, losing 1.9 percent.

Among the Nasdaq 100, ASML (plus 2.3 percent), KLA (plus 2.2 percent) and Advanced Micro Devices (plus 2.0 percent) led the list of winners. Netflix and Nvidia fared better, gaining 1.7 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.

Tesla shares are under pressure again. They lost 2.7 percent to their lowest level in a year. The planned job cuts reflect weak demand for electric cars, wrote analyst Sophie Lund-Yates from broker Hargreaves Landsdown. However, Tesla needs revenue to ramp up planned production of new models.

(With material from dpa-AFX)