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Tesla drops as European sales slump continues

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FedEx ( FDX ), General Mills ( GIS ) shares slide after disappointing

profit

forecasts

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Micron results due after the bell

(Updates to market close)

By Stephen Culp

June 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks took a breather on

Wednesday, pausing a two-day rally as the tenuous Israel-Iran

cease fire continued to hold and investors pored over a second

day of congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome

Powell.

Tech shares lifted the Nasdaq, while the S&P 500

ended essentially unchanged. The benchmark index remained within

striking distance of its record closing high reached on February

19.

The blue-chip Dow ended in negative territory.

"It almost feels like back to your regularly scheduled bull

market," said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson

Group in Omaha. "We've dealt with the tariffs, we've dealt with

the Middle East drama, but stocks continue to defy the odds by

moving higher with the realization that the U.S. economy remains

quite resilient."

"But today it's almost like watching paint dry as we're all

waiting for the S&P 500 to make new highs," Detrick added.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares touched a record high, lifting its

market value to $3.75 trillion and making it the world's most

valuable company.

"The lifeblood of a bull market is rotation," Detrick said.

"And to see technology and communication services taking back

the baton is really a good sign that this surprise summer rally

likely has legs."

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500

gained 1.28 points, or 0.02%, to end at 6,093.46 points,

while the Nasdaq Composite gained 65.01 points, or

0.33%, to 19,977.54. The Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 92.91 points, or 0.22%, to 42,996.11.

The fragile truce between Israel and Iran continued to hold,

with U.S. President Donald Trump declaring victory despite a

lack of clarity regarding the extent of the damage U.S. strikes

had on Iran's uranium enrichment assets.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell, in his second straight day of

congressional testimony, reiterated to the Senate Banking

Committee that the central bank is well-positioned to wait to

cut interest rates until the inflationary effects of Trump's

wide-ranging tariffs are better known.

Financial markets are pricing in almost a 25% likelihood of

a rate cut at the July policy meeting, and a 67% probability

that the first cut will arrive in September, according to CME's

FedWatch tool.

Housing data on Wednesday showed new home sales plunged

13.7% and applications for loans to buy homes dipped as mortgage

rates edged higher.

On Thursday, the Commerce Department is due to issue its

final take on first-quarter GDP, and its Personal Consumption

Expenditures (PCE) report on Friday will provide insights into

consumer spending and inflation.

Tesla shares fell as its European sales slumped for

the fifth month.

Economic uncertainty continues to weigh on corporate

guidance.

FedEx ( FDX ) shares slid after the package delivery company

forecast quarterly profit below estimates as tariffs weighed on

global demand. Rival UPS lost ground as well.

General Mills ( GIS ) provided disappointing profit

guidance, sending its shares lower.

U.S.-listed shares of cybersecurity firm BlackBerry

jumped on the heels of its revenue forecast hike, attributed to

steady demand.