The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 logged modest gains Wednesday, while the Nasdaq Composite rang up its second consecutive loss, after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told a House Financial Services Committee that inflation will moderate and that he believes that policy makers can combat rising pricing pressures if they run even hotter. The Dow closed 0.1% higher at around 34,933, the S&P 500 index advanced 0.1% at about 4,374, pulling back after hitting an intraday high Wednesday at 4,393.68; the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.2% at around 14,645, marking its second decline in a row. The small-capitalization Russell 2000 index suffered another sharp drop, sinking more than 3% over the past two sessions. In corporate news, shares of Bank of America Corp. dropped after the moneycenter bank reported a second-quarter profit that rose above expectations but revenue fell short, weighed by misses in the consumer banking and global markets businesses. BlackRock Inc. shares fell after the money manager reported second-quarter profit and revenue that rose above expectations, as assets under management increased 30% and net inflows topped $80 billion. Meanwhile, the Fed's latest deep dive on the economy confirmed the obvious: The U.S. is growing faster, but the recovery is being restrained by widespread shortages of labor and supplies.The findings from the central bank's so-called Beige Book, which largely mirrored the more timely remarks by Powell during his appearance in Congress on Wednesday. The moves in stocks also came as the 10-year benchmark yield skidded lower and prices for government debt rose. The 10-year note was at around 1.34% from aroun 1.41% on Tuesday. Treasury yields fall as prices climb.
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