12:44 PM EDT, 06/25/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes traded mixed as technology and communication services helped the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 trade close to their record highs.

The Nasdaq rose 0.2% to 19,952.2 after midday on Wednesday, not too far off from its all-time peak of 20,204.58. The S&P 500 was steady at 6,092.1, near its record high of 6,147.43. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% to 43,015.5. Real estate and utilities led the decliners intraday.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell returned to Capitol Hill on Wednesday for his congressional testimony before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee.

The possibility that the Trump administration's tariff plans may result in more persistent inflation is a large enough risk for the central bank to be careful in considering interest rate cuts, Powell told the panel.

Meanwhile, in geopolitical developments, President Donald Trump disputed an early US intelligence report on the effectiveness of US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities last weekend, CNN reported. He also said the US will meet with Iran "next week," the news report said, as the Iran-Israel ceasefire brokered by the president appears to be holding.

US Treasury yields traded mixed, with the two-year rate up 1.3 basis points to 3.8%.

In company news, shares of Paychex ( PAYX ) slumped 8.1%, the steepest decline on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, after the company reported fiscal Q4 revenue below the market consensus.

Tesla's (TSLA) new car sales in Europe dropped almost 28% in May from a year earlier, even as total battery electric vehicle sales in the region jumped more than 27%, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association reported. Shares of Tesla dropped 4.2%, among the worst performers on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.