04:12 PM EDT, 04/16/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity markets ended mixed Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggested interest rates are expected to remain higher for longer.

* Powell said that it may take longer than previously expected for the Federal Open Market Committee to be confident that inflation is slowing enough to consider lowering interest rates, adding that the FOMC is positioned to react to the incoming data and would be able to keep rates restrictive as long as needed.

* Housing starts fell by 15% to a 1.32 million annual rate in March from February's upwardly revised 1.55 million print, the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development said. The consensus was for housing starts of 1.49 million in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Building permits fell by 4.3% to a 1.46 million rate in March.

* May West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed down $0.05 to $85.36 per barrel, while June Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $0.10 to $90.00 as the US weighed added sanctions on Iran oil exports following an attack on Israel.

* UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) shares rose 5.2% after reiterating its full-year adjusted earnings outlook despite the impact of the cybersecurity incident involving its Change Healthcare unit in February. The health insurer also reported higher-than-expected adjusted earnings and revenue in Q1.

* Bank of America ( BAC ) shares fell 3.5% after reporting lower Q1 earnings and revenue from a year earlier.