Stocks Close Mixed in the U.S. after Yellen’s Speech

U.S. stocks closed mixed and with little changes Tuesday, as investors contemplated remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

On Tuesday, Yellen stated that in the situation of significant uncertainties, a gradual pace of adjustments is increased. The Fed is advised to be wary of moving too gradually.

"With gradual adjustments in monetary policy, inflation will stabilize at around the FOMC's (Federal Open Market Committee) 2 percent objective over the next few years, accompanied by some further strengthening in labor market conditions," she stated.

The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 9.57 points, or 0.15 percent, to 6,380.16 and over at The Dow Jones Industrial Average, it fell 11.77 points, or 0.05 percent, to 22.284.32. The S&P 500 stands at 0.18 points, or 0.01 percent, to 2,496.84.

Policymakers anticipates one more rate hike later this year and three for the next year as it was concluded in last week’s two-day policy meeting. This follows the two interest rates hikes implemented this year by the Federal Reserve.

On the U.S. housing front, sales of new single-family houses were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in August, coming up to 560,000 and missing market consensus as concluded by the Commerce Department on Tuesday.

According to S&P Dow Jones Indices, The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shriller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 5.9-percent annual gain in July which is an up from the previous month’s 5.8 percent.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index edges up to 119.8 in September, down from 120.4 in August and in line with the usual market estimates.

Asia Stock Market on Edge

Asian stock markets slide lower as investors await President Donald Trump’s tax overhaul plans while tension surrounding North Korea settled.

"With the focus back on monetary policy and particularly fiscal policies in the U.S., markets in the Asian region may sit tight midweek awaiting updates," stated Jingyi Pan, market strategist in Singapore.

"The impact of a successfully implemented (tax overhaul) plan would be far-reaching with President Trump placing a key focus on bringing back funds from U.S. firms 'parked overseas'," she added

Japan’s Topix index slid 0.5 percent as of 2:05 p.m. in Tokyo. While in Hong Kong, Hang Seng’s Index climbed 0.5 percent and China’s stock benchmarks shows little adjustments.

The MSCI Emerging Market Index rose 0.2 percent following a fourth day of losses on Tuesday when it sunk to 0.8 percent.  The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.2 percent.