Stocks Ended Sharply Lower after Powell Comments

U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Tuesday, after comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell sparked concerns about more interest-rate increases than expected this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 299.24 points, or 1.16%, to 25,410.03. The S&P 500 lost 35.32 points, or 1.27%, to 2,744.28. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 91.11 points, or 1.23%, to 7,330.35.

Oil prices suffered a decline from three-week highs on Tuesday, pressured by expectations for a weekly build in U.S. crude stockpiles and concerns over growth in domestic production. April West Texas Intermediate crude fell 90 cents, or 1.4%, to settle at $63.01 a barrel. April Brent crude fell 87 cents, or 1.3%, to $66.63 a barrel.

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell moved markets on Tuesday in his first appearance before lawmakers on Capitol Hill since his confirmation. In response to questions from Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Powell hinted that more aggressive action on raising interest rates from the Fed could be warranted this year.

Amazon.com Inc is set to buy privately held Ring for more than $1 billion, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, as the tech giant looks to expand into the home security space.