US stocks were muted on Wednesday, holding the sharp gains from the two prior sessions as markets assessed the Federal Reserve's policy outlook as tension in the Middle East continued to de-escalate. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 were flat, with the latter reaching a record high earlier in the session, while the Dow was down by less than 100 points. Fed Chair Powell maintained his cautious rhetoric on his second day of testimony before Congress, stressing that the FOMC wants a clearer picture on the economy before delivering rate cuts, but hinting that it may be appropriate to loosen policy if tariffs are not as aggressive as feared in early April. In the meantime, energy prices held most of their declines as tankers navigated freely in the Middle East. Tech led the gains on a less eventful backdrop, with Nvidia, Alphabet, and AMD adding over 2%. On the other hand, Tesla fell 5% on pessimistic European sales, and FedEx lost 2% after cutting its guidance.