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The U.S. dollar index pared some of its gains on Thursday, falling back from its highest level since mid-January, as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told Congress there was some slack left in the labor market. Powell, who was giving the second part of his maiden congressional testimony on Thursday, said that “nothing suggests wage inflation is at the point of acceleration,” and that the labor market could strengthen some without leading to higher consumer price inflation. The response came on the back of a comments concerning whether the Fed could be hiking interest rates too quickly, which was also worry among market participants late last year. Since then, analysts have begun pricing in four rather than three interest rate hikes in 2018, partly on the back of Powell’s comments on Tuesday, in which he praised the U.S. economic outlook. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index was last up 0.1% at 90.711.

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President Trump won’t announce tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum on Thursday, according to a CNBC report. He is reportedly meeting with industry executives at 11 a.m. Eastern. Trump tweeted early Thursday that those industries have been “decimated” by unfair trade but did not hint at an imminent announcement.

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FCA US, the U.S. unit of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV , said Thursday that sales fell 1% in February to 168,326 vehicles. Overall sales were helped by a 12% increase in Jeep brand sales. Fleet sales fell 3% and accounted for 26% of total sales.

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U.S. stocks opened flat on Thursday, with trading expected to be light as investors looked ahead to a fresh appearance before Congress by Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 9 points to 25,017. The S&P 500 was down less than one point to 2,714. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 5 points to 7,277. All three moved less than 0.1% on the day. The three are also coming off a sizable two-day drop, which included back-to-back declines of more than 1% for both the Dow and the S&P. Powell, whose recent comments before a House panel helped send U.S. stocks lower, is due to testify to the Senate Banking Committee at 10 a.m. Eastern. The new Fed boss on Tuesday highlighted ways he personally thinks the U.S. economic outlook has strengthened, which raised concerns that the Fed could become more aggressive in raising interest rates. In company news, L Brands Inc. fell 9.9% a day after giving a disappointing outlook, while Salesforce.com Inc rose 4.4% after its results.

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Analysts at Jefferies upped their estimates on per-share earnings at two big banks, noting that choppy markets are helping boost trading volumes. The Jefferies analysts estimate that big bank trading revenues will rise 7% in the first quarter compared to a year ago, on average, although Citigroup could see as much as a 10% increase. They now forecast 2018 EPS for Bank of America at $2.45, up from $2.42 previously, and Citigroup at $6.30, up from $6.20. Following the investor day held by JPMorgan Chase, , they increased its EPS targets to $8.80. The steeper yield curve – the difference between short- and long- term interest rates, which banks need to make money, is also helping in Q1, the analysts note. Bank stocks have been on a tear as investors expect less regulation and better macro conditions. Citi shares have gained 23% over the past 12 months, JPMorgan shares are up 24%, and Bank of America is up 25%. All top the 13% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Walmart Inc. and Buzzfeed have partnered for a line of kitchen products based on the Tasty web series. Tasty reaches 540 million people around the world across Facebook Inc. , SnapChat , YouTube and other social media platforms as well as a website and app. Tasty brands include Proper Tasty and Tasty Japan. The brand also released a cookbook in December. The new line will have 90 products including bakeware and kitchen gadgets ranging in price from $4.44 to $99. The line is now available at Walmart and on the retailer’s site. Walmart and Buzzfeed have a collaborative partnership for consumer products, e-commerce and more. Walmart shares are down 27.8% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 13.3% for the period.

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Shares of steel makers rallied in premarket trade Thursday, as investors prepped for a possible announcement by President Trump on tariffs. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump summoned steel and aluminum executives on short notice to the White House for a meeting Thursday, telling them an announcement could be made on curbs on steel and aluminum imports. Shares of U.S. Steel Corp. rallied 4.5% ahead of the open, AK Steel Holding Corp. climbed 8.0%, Steel Dynamics Inc. rallied 3.7%, Nucor Corp. ran up 3.1% and Alcoa Corp. advanced 3.3%. The rallies come as the S&P 500 futures tick up just 0.1%.

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Barnes & Noble Inc. shares slid 6.7% in Thursday premarket trading after it reported a fiscal third-quarter loss. The books seller had a loss of $63.5 million, or 87 cents per share, after net income of $70.3 million, or 96 cents per share, for the same period last year. Sales totaled $1.23 billion, down from $1.3 billion last year. Same-store sales fell 5.8%. Barnes & Noble booked charges totaling about $144.0 million. The company has implemented a long-term strategic plan that includes expense reductions expected to result in annual savings of $40 million. Barnes & Noble expects fiscal 2018 same-store sales to decline in the mid-single digits. The company’s shares are down more than 54% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 13.3% for the period.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – Consumer spending in January rose a scant 0.2% as Americans cut back after the holidays. And spending fell for the first time in a year if adjusted for inflation, the government said Thursday. At the same time, incomes rose 0.4% and aftertax incomes posted the biggest gain since 2012 in the wake of the Trump tax cuts. Real disposable income surged 0.9%. The Bureau of Economic Analysis said it boosted its estimate of income growth by $30 billion to account for reports of onetime bonuses handed out by businesses after the tax law. The BEA estimated the tax law reduced personal taxes in January at a $115 billion annual rate. These figures are expected to be adjusted in the next few months as the government gets more precise information.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The Federal Reserve’s preferred PCE inflation index surged 0.4% in January, but the yearly increase was flat at 1.7% for the third month in a row, the government said Thursday. The so-called core PCE that strips out food and energy climbed 0.3%, matching an increase a year ago that was the largest since an economic recovery began in mid-2009. The last time the core rate rose even faster was in 2007. Still, the 12-month advance in the core rate was flat at 1.5% for the fourth straight month. Inflation has been rising gradually over the past few years, but it’s still below the Fed’s 2% target.

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