After spending most of the day in the red, the Dow Jones industrial average (INDU)managed to add 7 points, or 0.1%, The S&P 500 (SPX) slipped 4 points, or 0.3%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (COMP) fell 8 points, or 0.3%.
Investors directed their attention to Capitol Hill, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified before the House Budget Committee. The central bank chief said that despite a strengthening economic recovery, the unemployment rate remains high while inflation is "still quite low."
Bernanke also told lawmakers that they need a "credible program" to reduce the nation's growing deficit.
"Bernanke's speech is pretty much a repeat of what he's been saying," said Tom Schrader, managing director at Stifel Nicolaus. "Investors seem to be content with their current investments, and are taking a wait-and-see attitude. There's nothing on the immediate horizon that could cause the markets to drift significantly one way or the other."
Stocks posted solid gains Tuesday, with the Dow ending at its highest level since June 2008, as traders cheered news in the consumer sector and looked past China's latest interest rate hike.
The dollar was slightly lower versus the euro, but rose against the Japanese yen and the British pound.
Oil for March delivery fell 23 cents to settle at $86.71 a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery rose $1.40 to settle at $1,365.50 an ounce.
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