The Dow Jones Industrials dipped 74.08 points to close out Wednesday at 33,852.66.
The S&P 500 handed back 1.55 points to 4,376.86.
The NASDAQ index gained 36.08 points to 13,591.75.
Powell on Wednesday said there is more restriction coming, including the likelihood of more interest rate hikes at future meetings.
Chip stocks fell after The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. was considering new export restrictions to China. Artificial intelligence beneficiary Nvidia dropped by more than 1%. Still, the NASDAQ Composite bucked the trend, and closed higher for a second day. Google-parent Alphabet rose more than 1%, while Tesla jumped more than 2%. Netflix shares gained more than 3%.
Investors are preparing to close out the best first half for the NASDAQ in 40 years, as they ride a wave of optimism around artificial intelligence that has significantly buoyed a handful of mega-cap tech stocks. The S&P 500 is higher on the year 14% and NASDAQ Composite has galloped 30%.
Powell on Wednesday said more restrictive policy is still to come as the Fed continues to fight inflation, including the likelihood of interest rate hikes at consecutive meetings. Powell spoke before a panel with Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda at the European Central Bank Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury enjoyed slight gains, lowering yields to 3.71% from Tuesday’s 3.76%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices hiked $1.53 to $69.23 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices surrendered $5.20 to $1,918.60 U.S. an ounce.