US stocks mixed with S&P 500 hitting a new low in 2022 as Fed officials defend hawkish policy

• US stocks ended mixed on Tuesday with the S&P 500 falling to a new 2022 low intraday as Fed officials defended their hawkish stance.
• Tuesday's decline marked the sixth consecutive fall for the the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average.
• Fed President Neel Kashkari said the central bank's current pace of hiking interest rates to tame inflation is "appropriate."

US stocks closed mixed on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 hitting a new 2022 low intraday as the broad index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell for a sixth day in a row.

During the trading session, the S&P 500 dipped below its mid-June low of 3,636 before paring losses. Tuesday's decline reversed early morning gains and came as Fed officials defended their hawkish stance as they continue to see further interest rate hikes in the future.

Chicago Fed President Charles Evans told CNBC on Tuesday that he is "cautiously optimistic" the US economy can avoid a recession, and said he's "a little nervous" about the Fed raising interest rates too quickly.

Meanwhile, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said at a Wall Street Journal event that the central bank's current rate hikes are "appropriate" and that there is unanimity among policymakers that inflation remains a big risk to the economy that they need to get under control.

The market currently expects another 75-basis-point rate hike at the Fed's November meeting.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. ET close on Tuesday:

• S&P 500: 3,647.29, down 0.21%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 29,134.99, down 0.43% (125.82 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 10,829.50, up 0.25%

Here's what else is happening this morning:

• President Joe Biden has once again urged gas stations to cut their prices at the pump for American drivers ahead of Hurricane Ian, as he took a jab at them for delays in passing on a drop in oil prices.
• Part of the British pound's gain on Tuesday happened as investors assessed the chances of an emergency intervention by the Bank of England.
• The crash in the British pound has lifted expectations that the UK central bank will hike interest rates — and that's prompted a wave of UK banks to pull mortgage deals.
• Three men behind Hometown International, the parent company of a New Jersey-based deli that saw its market capitalization soar to $100 million last year, have been charged with alleged stock market manipulation.
• Surging mortgage rates and a slowdown in the housing market continue to take a toll on lumber prices, with the essential building commodity hitting a new 2022 low on Monday.
• Growth in house prices eased at the fastest rate on record in July, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index. House prices across the US logged a 15.8% increase in July over the same month in 2021, lower than the 18.1% annual increase marked in June.

In commodities, bonds and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil jumped 2.40% to $78.55 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, rose 2.70% to $86.33.
• Gold rallied 0.11% to $1,635.20 per ounce.
• The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped six basis points to 3.98%.
• Bitcoin fell 5.03% to $19.089, while ether fell 4.43% to $1,324.