U.S. stocks close mostly weaker in a busy day of congressional hearings

U.S. stocks closed mostly lower Wednesday in a day dominated by congressional hearings on trade and Federal Reserve policies but light on market-moving news. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer spoke in front of the House Ways and Means Committee on U.S.-China trade negotiations while Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testified in front of the House and largely reiterated the central bank's wait-and-see approach to future interest rate increases. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 72 points, or 0.3%, to 25,985. The S&P 500 shed a point to 2,792 while the Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 5 points to 7,554.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.