Source: Sharecast
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.35% to 23,675.64, the S&P 500 eked out gains of 0.01% to 2,546.16, and the Nasdaq 100 closed 0.67% higher at 6,491.52.
Before the opening bell, there was concern for another red-tinted day after Asian stocks slumped following a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping, which failed to boost sentiment.
In an address to commemorate the 40th anniversary of China's economic reforms, Xi called for China to "stay the course" on its current path of reform and said "no one is in a position to dictate to the Chinese people what should or should not be done".
However, market participants were left disappointed after Xi failed to mention any new reforms or stimulus.
“There is a lot of pessimism in the markets right now and while the Fed - or more accurately, its chairman - may have been the trigger, I wonder whether they may be nothing more than a scapegoat, with his comments being the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam.
“Powell has since dialled back - or clarified - his hawkish views on interest rates and yet, the sell-off continues.”
Elsewhere, Donald Trump publicly called upon the Federal Reserve to refrain from upping interest rates during its two-day meeting that kicks off today.
Trump took to Twitter to ensure the Fed would not make "yet another mistake".
"I hope the people over at the Fed will read today’s Wall Street Journal Editorial before they make yet another mistake," said the President.
"Also, don’t let the market become any more illiquid than it already is. Stop with the 50 B’s. Feel the market, don’t just go by meaningless numbers. Good luck!"
Energy-related shares were feeling the pinch as oil prices tumbled, amid supply glut worries.
Brent crude was last down 6.3% at $56.08 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate slid 7.97% to $46.20.
On the data front, US housing starts rose more than expected last month, according to data released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday.
Housing starts were up 3.2% to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.256m from October's revised 1.217m. Analysts had pencilled in a level of 1.225m.
On the year, however, housing starts were down 3.6% from November 2017's rate of 1.303m.
Meanwhile, single-family housing starts fell 4.6% to 824,000 last month from October's revised 864,000.
Building permits were up 5% from October's revised rate of 1.265m to 1.328m, and 0.4% above November 2017's level of 1.323m.
Privately-owned housing completions nudged up 0.4% from October's revised 1.095m to 1.099m, but were down 3.9% on the year.
In corporate news, software company Oracle lost some of its earlier gains, finishing 0.26% higher after better-than-expected third-quarter earnings late on Monday.
Shares in Olive Garden parent Darden Restaurants gained 5.02% following the release of its second-quarter numbers.
Dow Jones - Risers
Boeing Co. (BA) $328.06 2.92%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $47.74 1.40%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $166.07 1.30%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $103.97 1.05%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $44.06 -0.32%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $171.50 -0.74%
3M Co. (MMM) $194.56 -0.79%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $91.08 -0.84%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $52.29 -0.93%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $75.48 -0.97%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $72.00 -4.74%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $252.97 -4.55%
American Express Co. (AXP) $101.02 -4.43%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $92.48 -4.29%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $42.40 -3.20%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $74.32 -2.81%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $116.65 -2.71%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $115.78 -2.54%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $55.65 -2.51%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $109.74 -2.49%
S&P 500 - Risers
American Airlines Group (AAL) $33.54 4.68%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $62.03 4.06%
PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) $26.47 3.36%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $270.94 3.10%
Boeing Co. (BA) $328.06 2.92%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $94.54 2.85%
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $43.23 2.83%
Allstate Corp (The) (ALL) $81.51 2.79%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $130.58 2.60%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $34.16 2.55%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Xerox Corp. (XRX) $21.07 -13.82%
PG&E Corp. (PCG) $23.02 -11.50%
Westrock Company (WRK) $40.25 -9.29%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $2.12 -9.01%
Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) $75.17 -8.88%
PPL Corp. (PPL) $27.97 -8.56%
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) $47.13 -7.50%
Alliance Data Systems Corp. (ADS) $160.28 -7.45%
Hess Corp. (HES) $47.31 -7.05%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $54.45 -6.89%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
American Airlines Group (AAL) $33.54 4.68%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $270.94 3.10%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $94.54 2.85%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $130.58 2.60%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $143.66 2.48%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $89.23 2.35%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $146.94 2.34%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $226.18 2.17%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $187.57 2.06%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $1,551.48 2.01%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $294.75 -5.86%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $337.03 -3.27%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $105.99 -3.23%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $89.58 -3.10%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $29.05 -2.97%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $232.52 -2.54%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $166.22 -2.27%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $53.10 -2.21%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $66.63 -2.20%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $73.01 -1.91%
