KEY POINTS:

• Main U.S. indexes end mixed, little changed
• Real estate weakest S&P 500 sector; Tech leads gainers
• Dollar, gold up slightly; crude, bitcoin edged down
• U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield rises to ~4.66%

POWELL REMARKS, HIGHER YIELDS WEIGH, BUT S&P 500 SLIPS JUST A BIT

The main U.S. indexes ended mixed and little changed on Tuesday even as Treasury yields climbed, with investors weighing the likely path of interest rates in a resilient U.S. economy with persistent inflation.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday recent inflation data has not given policymakers enough confidence to ease credit soon, noting that the U.S. central bank may need to keep rates higher for longer than previously thought.

The U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield US10Y hit 4.696%, which matched its 4.696% Nov. 13 high. It is now around 4.66%, up just modestly on the day. Meanwhile, the yield faces a Fibonacci retracement zone of last year’s October-December slide in the 4.73%-4.76% area.

In any event, stocks lost some ground in the wake of Powell’s remarks before then firming slightly off their afternoon lows.

In the end, the Dow DJI ended higher by just 0.17%, while the Nasdaq IXIC finished off only 0.12% and S&P 500 SPX lost just 0.21%.

The VIX VIX hit 19.56, or a fresh high back to Oct. 31. However, it has since deflated down to around 18.4.

A majority of S&P 500 sectors finished down on the day. Utilities S5UTIL and real estate S5REAS took the biggest hits, both losing more than 1%. Tech S5INFT, with a modest 0.23% rise, led gainers.

Under the surface, chip stocks SOX showed some strength, while banks (.KRX), (.SPXBK) and gold stocks (.HUI) were among weaker groups.