The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 71.34 points, or 0.21 percent, to 33,874.24. The S&P 500 was down 4.60 points, or 0.11 percent, to 4,241.84. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 18.46 points, or 0.13 percent, to 14,271.73.
Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with utilities down 1.05 percent, leading the laggards. Consumer discretionary rose 0.63 percent, the best-performing group.
U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly higher with eight of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.
Investors digested U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's comments on inflation.
Powell said on Tuesday that the central bank will not raise interest rates preemptively based on inflation fears, reiterating recent inflation surge is transitory.
"We will not raise interest rates preemptively because we think employment is too high, because we fear the possible onset of inflation. Instead, we will wait for actual evidence of actual inflation or other imbalances," the Fed chief told lawmakers at a hearing before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis.
Powell said a substantial part of the recent rise in inflation comes from categories that are directly affected by the reopening of the economy, such as used cars and trucks in particular.
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