Nasdaq turns positive after Fed chair's remarks on policy outlook

Wall Street's main indexes cut losses and the Nasdaq turned positive on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. central bank is "strongly committed" to bringing down inflation that is running at a 40-year high.

In his prepared remarks before the Senate Banking Committee, Powell reiterated that ongoing increases in the policy rate would be appropriate, but the pace of the changes will continue to depend on the incoming data and the evolving outlook for the economy.

His comments came a week after the U.S. central bank raised interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point, its largest increase since 1994. According to a Reuters poll, economists expect a similar move next month, followed by a half-percentage-point rise in