U.S. stocks closed barely mixed after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell offered almost nothing new in his testimony before the Senate Banking Committtee.

In his first Congressional appearance since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Powell was expected to address questions about the role tariffs may have on inflation and the economy, his economic outlook, interest rates, and the central bank's independence from the executive branch. However, neither "tariff," "trade" nor "Trump" was featured in Powell's testimony.

"Instead, we get a rehash of the press conference following the Fed’s decision to leave rates on hold in January," said James Knightley, chief international economist at Dutch bank ING. Powell said he's in no rush to lower rates again.

After a string of strong jobs reports and inflation stuck above the Fed's 2% target, most economists pared back expectations for rate cuts this year while a handful have said they don't expect any.

On Wednesday, Powell testifes before the House Financial Services Committee at 10 a.m. ET.

The broad S&P 500 index closed up 0.034%, or 2.06 points, at 6,068.50; the blue-chip Dow edged up 0.28%, or 123.24 points, to 44,593.65; and the tech-laden Nasdaq fell 0.36%, or 70.01 points, to 19,644.26. The benchmark 10-year yield rose to 4.537% with rate cuts not lookling likely any time soon.

Tariff watch

Investors are also in a holding pattern, waiting for Trump's tariff plans to further unfold. Trump slapped a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum, and said more reciprocal tariffs might be coming.

Overnight, European leaders said they would prefer to negotiate a deal on steel and aluminum but wouldn't hesitate to enact their own levies amid an impasse.

More:Ford CEO says 25% tariff on Canada, Mexico would 'blow a hole' in US auto industry

Meantime shares of steel and aluminum producers like Century Aluminum, United States Steel, Nucor and Alcoa extended Monday's gains made after Trump's tariff on the two metals.

Inflation data

On Wednesday morning, key January consumer inflation data are due. Economists, on average, expect overall inflation to be up 2.8% from a year earlier, slightly lower than December's 2.9%.

Producer price index is due on Thursday morning. Producer prices measure what businesses pay to each other, also called wholesale prices. Inflation trends can sometimes show up first in producer prices before trickling down to consumers. Economists expect a monthly gain of 0.3% in the PPI, slightly ahead of the 0.2% spike for December.

Corporate news

So far earnings season has been positive, data show. Among the more than half of the S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly results, 76.6% have beaten analysts' earnings expectations, according to LSEG data.

More earnings and other corporate news on Tuesday included:

• Intel shares gained 6.07% after Vice President JD Vance emphasized at a Paris summit the importance of ensuring powerful artificial-intelligence chips are designed and made in the U.S.
• Fidelity National Information shares plunged 11.5% after the company warned its current quarter and full year outlook would miss analysts' expectations.
• Coca-Cola stock added 4.73% after the beverage maker beat revenue estimates during the last three months of the year, helped by higher prices and resilient demand for its sodas and juices.
• Lattice Semiconductor's revenues in the last few months of the year topped analysts' expectations. Shares of the semiconductor maker jumped 7.66%.
• Ecolab predicted strong earnings growth this year, pushing shares of the water treatment company to a record high. Shares closed up 6.16%.
• Boeing said January plane deliveries reached the highest level since 2023. Its shares edged down 0.061%.
• DuPont shares rose 6.85% after the industrial materials maker raised its 2025 profit forecast on strong demand for electronics.
•  Phillips 66 shares gained 4.72% after Reuters said activist Elliott Investment Management has a more than $2.5 billion stake in the oil refiner.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals said its earning per share in the final months of last year missed analysts' forecasts, but its sales topped. The biotechnology company's shares slipped 3.14%.
• Astera Labs beat analysts' expectations in the last few months of the year and its outlook for the first three months was above forecasts. The chipmaker's stock dropped 10.89%.
• An Elon Musk-led group made an unsolictied $97.4 billion bid for OpenAI. OpenAI says it's not for sale.
• Ride-share operator Lyft and tech company Super Micro Computer are slated to report earnings after the close.

Bitcoin

The Securities and Exchange Commission asked a court to pause its case against crypto exchange Binance, underscoring how Trump's administration may be crypto friendly.

The prior administration's SEC had alleged Binance operated unregistered exchanges, misrepresented trading controls, and commingled investors' assets with company funds. Binance has always said the case was without merit.

Bitcoin was last down 2.19% at $95,344.34.

Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected] and  subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.