"Powell's doing the right thing by warning people that this is not just going to be a V-shaped recovery," said Sam Hendel, president and co-portfolio manager of New York-based Levin Easterly Partners.
The three main US stock indexes have climbed about 30% from their March lows as investors bet on a pickup in business activity after various states eased virus-induced lockdowns that have caused mass layoffs and disrupted supply chains.
At 11:31 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 307.23 points, or 1.29%, at 23,457.55, the S&P 500 was down 26.48 points, or 0.92%, at 2,843.64. The Nasdaq Composite was down 48.44 points, or 0.54%, at 8,954.12.