US stock market remains mixed as Fed Chair Powell favors 'wait-and-see' approach

US stocks indices have largely stayed put on Wednesday afternoon in light of Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Powell's press conference in which he stuck to his "wait-and-see" approach.

Powell extolled the positives in the economy. He said the US labor market was close to full employment and that inflation figures were largely healthy. However, he said the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) needed to stay the course and watch how the US economy dealt with the Trump administration's tariff policy.

The FOMC chose to keep the fed funds rate unchanged, as expected, in the 4.25% to 4.50% range earlier in the afternoon. This was the third straight meeting at which the committee decided to pause rates.

Noting that tariff rates had been changing often, Powell said the central bank would need to wait for tariff policy to become consistent before making major changes to existing policy.

"The risk of higher unemployment and higher inflation has risen," Powell said, but that those risks might not lead to substantial effects on economic data.

The NASDAQ was down 0.35% before the interest rate decision, but the pullback nearly doubled when Powell admitted to a Fox Business reporter that he wasn't certain the FOMC would cut interest rates this year. However, the NASDAQ index moved up closer to even as the Trump administration said it was considering exempting Chinese-made baby strollers and car seats from tariffs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) moved from a 0.3% gain to a 0.8% gain during the speech, while the S&P 500 waxed and waned between a moderate loss and a moderate advance.

"We're in a good position to wait and see," Powell repeated, reiterating his favored phrase.