US stocks end mixed midweek

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US stocks ended mixed midweek following the announcement of a ceasefire in the Israel-Iran conflict.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.25%, or 106.59 points to close at 42,982.43.

The S&P 500 was mostly unchanged at 6,092.16.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.31% to finish at 19,973.55.

The ceasefire, announced Monday by US President Donald Trump after the United States bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities early Sunday, reversed early losses in the stock markets.

It also boosted equities as investors breathed a sigh of relief that the conflict wouldn’t disrupt global crude supply.

Meanwhile, Trump again urged Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to cut rates, calling him "terrible" while also confirming that he is considering "three or four" people for Powell’s replacement.

"He is an average mentally person. I'd say low IQ for what he does," he noted.

On the prospect of a stagflation scenario for the US economy, Powell said there is no risk of a stagflation, but the central bank is monitoring the situation.

"We have warned of it, but it is not something that we are facing or that we expect to face," he added.

He also noted that it is difficult to assess the effect of tariffs on inflation because there is not a lot of "modern learning" about tariffs.

On the macroeconomic data side, new home sales dropped 13.7% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 623,000 units last month, a seven-month low, falling short of market expectations.

The VIX Index, also known as the “fear index," dropped 4.12% to 16.76.