: Dow ends nearly 250 points lower, stock-market rally pauses ahead of Fed testimony

U.S. stocks closed lower on Tuesday, the first day of trading after the long federal Juneteenth holiday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA fell about 245 points, or 0.7%, ending near 34,053, while the S&P 500 index SPX closed about 0.5% lower and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP shed 0.2%, according to preliminary FactSet figures. Stocks were lower to start the week, after the S&P 500 on Friday booked a fifth straight week of gains and stocks recently touched their highest level in more than a year. Investors were waiting on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s congressional testimony on monetary policy, which kicks off Wednesday, for more insights into the central bank’s thinking on interest rates, after senior officials penciled in two more potential hikes this year, while skipping a rate increase at its June meeting.

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