Investors cautious as Dow Jones falls on Powell's testimony and housing data.

US stocks closed lower as investors await testimony from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to Congress this week as data suggests the economy remains healthy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 245.25 points, or 0.7%, to 34,053.87. Investors pulled back from equities on Tuesday, following the US long weekend in honor of the Juneteenth federal holiday. Tuesday's US economic data included housing starts data, which showed a 21.7% surge in May after a revised 2.9% drop in April. Earlier, China cut its 1- and 5-year lending rates by 10 basis points, which investors viewed to be modest, particularly after a Friday state council meeting didn't result in other concrete measures.