NEW YORK, June 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks finished higher on Tuesday as Wall Street looked to testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 68.61 points, or 0.20 percent, to 33,945.58. The S&P 500 rose 21.65 points, or 0.51 percent, to 4,246.44. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 111.79 points, or 0.79 percent, to 14,253.27.
Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with consumer discretionary and technology up 1.04 percent and 0.89 percent, respectively, leading the gainers. Utilities and real estate, however, struggled.
U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly lower with seven of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on a downbeat note.
Powell testified before the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday afternoon on the central bank's response to the coronavirus pandemic.
In the prepared statement released ahead of the testimony, the Fed chief said that while the "economy has shown sustained improvement," it still faces continued threats from the pandemic.
Last week, the Fed kept its benchmark interest rates unchanged at the record-low level of near zero, while seeing possible rate hikes by the end of 2023. Median forecast among Fed officials calls for a 3.4-percent inflation by end of this year, 1 percentage point up from the March projection.
