US Equity Indexes Mixed as Greer Helps Dial Back China Trade Tensions While Powell's Speech Leans Dovish

03:56 PM EDT, 10/14/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes traded mixed ahead of the close on Tuesday after Trade Representative Jamieson Greer pitched in managing China trade tensions, while Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled an end to the so-called quantitative easing may be on the horizon.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 6,634.2, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.9% to 22,507.3. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.4% to 46,237.8, clawing back losses from earlier in the session

Consumer staples, industrials, and financials led the gainers, while technology emerged as the sole decliner.

President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are still scheduled to meet, Greer told CNBC, though he cautioned that those plans are subject to change depending on how the situation develops. "Whether it will go through or not, I don't want to pre-commit either ourselves or the Chinese," Greer said of the meeting.

"We think we'll be able to work through it," Greer said of the trade dispute.

Powell said on Tuesday that the end of the central bank's long-running effort to shrink its holdings, widely known as quantitative tightening, may be coming into view, Reuters reported late Tuesday. "We may approach that point in the coming months, and we are closely monitoring a wide range of indicators" to help know if that moment has arrived, the Fed chief added.

Powell's speech was mainly related to the Fed's balance sheet, and he failed to offer any near-term guidance about October, said CIBC's Ali Jaffery. Reading between the lines, it seems the Fed chief would favor another quarter-point cut at the next policy meeting, undeterred by the economic data fog, Jaffery said.

US Treasury yields fell, with the two-year yield down 5.2 basis points to 3.47% and the 10-year rate slid 3.4 basis points to 4.02%.

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