05:25 PM EDT, 07/30/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equities closed mixed Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell remained noncommittal regarding potential interest rate cuts after the central bank again held its policy rate steady.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% to 44,461.3, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.1% to 6,362.9. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2% to 21,129.7. Most sectors ended in the red, led by materials, while utilities saw the biggest gain.

The Federal Open Market Committee left interest rates unchanged at 4.25% to 4.50%, in line with Wall Street's expectations. Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman dissented as they preferred a quarter-percentage-point cut. Governor Adriana Kugler, who recently favored holding rates steady "for some time," was absent, the FOMC said.

"Higher tariffs have begun to show through more clearly to prices of some goods, but their overall effects on economic activity and inflation remain to be seen," Powell said at a post-decision press conference. "For the time being, we are well positioned to learn more about the likely course of the economy and the

evolving balance of risks before adjusting our policy stance."

The FOMC statement was "modestly more dovish" than expected as the committee described growth as having moderated in the first half of the year, Morgan Stanley said in a note.

Official data showed Wednesday that the US economy grew at a 3% annual rate in the second quarter. That compares with 2.6% growth modeled by analysts. President Donald Trump again urged the Fed to ease its monetary policy, citing the better-than-expected GDP print.

"Although Powell has not thrown full support behind near-term rate cuts, we see the dissents by (Board of Governor) members as a signal that the consensus is going to be driven in that direction over the coming months," Jefferies Chief US Economist Thomas Simons said in a note e-mailed to clients.

US Treasury yields were higher, with the two-year rate adding 6.8 basis points to 3.94% and the 10-year rate rising 4.4 basis points to 4.37%.

Trump on Wednesday signed a proclamation imposing 50% tariffs on imports of semi-finished copper products and copper-intensive derivative products, effective Aug. 1. The US leader also signed an executive order suspending duty-free de minimis treatment for low-value shipments.

Copper futures plunged 18% in Wednesday late-afternoon trade.

The US will impose a 25% tariff rate on India, effective Friday, Trump said in a social media post. India will also face a penalty for purchasing weapons and energy from Russia, Trump wrote.

In a separate social media post Wednesday, Trump said that his reciprocal tariff deadline of Friday for trading partners that haven't signed a trade deal with the US "will not be extended."

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 1.8% at $70.38 a barrel in Wednesday late-afternoon trade.

Trump recently gave Russia a 10-day deadline to reach a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine. Failing to strike a deal risks additional sanctions on Moscow and secondary tariffs on countries importing Russian oil, ING Bank said in a report published Wednesday.

"Effective 100% secondary tariffs would lead to a dramatic shift in the oil market," ING said. "A number of key buyers of Russian oil would likely be reluctant to continue purchases, particularly large US trading partners. The impact on the oil balance and prices would be significant."

In other economic news, the US private sector added more jobs than expected this month as employers grew more optimistic about the state of the economy, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) reported.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to report Friday that the US economy added 102,000 nonfarm jobs in July, which would mark a drop from a 147,000 increase reported the month prior, according to a Bloomberg poll.

Pending home sales in the US surprisingly dropped in June amid declines in three of the four geographic regions, data from the National Association of Realtors showed.

In company news, Wingstop ( WING ) shares surged nearly 27% after the company reported a surprise increase in second-quarter earnings and raised its full-year global restaurant unit growth outlook.

Humana (HUM) was among the best performers on the S&P 500, up 12%, after the health insurer raised its full-year financial outlook following a quarterly beat.

Trane Technologies ( TT ) lifted its full-year guidance as the climate control product maker's second-quarter earnings topped market expectations, though revenue fell short of estimates amid declines in its Asia Pacific operations. The company's shares were down 8.4%, among the steepest declines on the S&P 500.

Gold fell 1.7% to $3,325.50 per troy ounce, while silver slid 3.1% to $37.09 per ounce.