How major US stock indexes fared Tuesday

Stocks closed slightly lower Tuesday after a day of meandering as investors parsed conflicting signals on the economy and testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

The Fed chief told Congress that the U.S. economy should keep expanding at a solid, though somewhat slower pace this year, and reassured markets that the central bank would be “patient” in raising interest rates.

On Tuesday:

The S&P 500 dropped 2.21 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 2,793.90.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 33.97 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 26,057.98.

The Nasdaq composite slid 5.16 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 7,549.30.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies gave up 11.32 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 1,577.48.

For the week:

The S&P 500 is up 1.23 points, or 0.04 per cent.

The Dow is up 26.17 points, or 0.1 per cent.

The Nasdaq is up 21.76 points, or 0.3 per cent.

The Russell 2000 is down 12.58 points, or 0.8 per cent.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is up 287.05 points, or 11.5 per cent.

The Dow is up 2,730.52 points, or 11.7 per cent.

The Nasdaq is up 914.02 points, or 13.8 per cent.

The Russell 2000 is up 228.92 points, or 17 per cent.