Wall Street ends an uneven day of trading with mixed results

Wall Street capped an unsteady day of trading with an uneven finish for the major stock indexes Tuesday, as gains by energy companies were offset by losses in technology and other sectors, the Associated Press reported.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.2%, its third straight drop. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 0.6%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended just barely in the green and small-company stocks rose.
The mixed finish came as investors watched developments in China and looked ahead to a speech Wednesday by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for clues as to what the central bank will do next in its fight to lower stubbornly hot inflation.
Wall Street is especially eager to hear what Powell has to say after remarks on Monday by two Federal Reserve bank president s helped spur a broad sell-off for stocks.
The S&P 500 slipped 6.31 points to 3,957.63. The Nasdaq dropped 65.72 points to 10,983.78. The Dow, which had been down as much as 187 points, gained 3.07 points to close at 33,852.53.
The Russell 2000 index of small company stocks rose 5.59 points, or 0.3%, to 1,836.55.
Technology stocks were the biggest drag on the broader market. Apple fell 2.1%. Financial and industrial stocks were among the gainers. American Express added 2% and United Parcel Service rose 2.8%. Energy stocks rose as U.S. crude oil prices climbed 1.2%. Hess rose 1.8%.
Railroad operators rose amid hopes that a rail strike can be averted as Congress prepares to take up legislation this week to impose a deal that unions agreed to in September. Union Pacific rose 2% and CSX gained 1.8%.
Bond yields gained ground. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, rose to 3.76% from 3.68% late Monday.