U.S. stocks ended higher Wednesday, pulling back slightly from record highs after remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s congressional testimony suggested the central bank remained open to a near-term rate cut.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) advanced 0.45%, or 13.44 points, as of market close, with the energy sector leading gains as domestic crude oil prices (CL=F) rose 4%. The blue chip index pared some gains to close at 2,993.07 points, after earlier hitting a new intraday high of 3,002.98. This marked the first time ever that the S&P 500 crossed the 3,000 level.

The Dow (^DJI) rose 0.29%, or 76.71 points, and also came off the highs of the day by market close. The 30-stock index reached a new record intraday high of 26,983.4 points.

The Nasdaq (^IXIC) increased 0.75%, or 60.8 points, retreating slightly after hitting a new intraday high of 8,228.6.

Treasury yields fluctuated in the wake of the first of two days of Powell’s congressional testimony. The more policy-sensitive short term government bond yields fell sharply, with the two-year yield down 7.7 basis points to 1.828% around 4 p.m. ET. Treasury yields move inversely to prices.

Powell delivered his semi-annual Monetary Policy Report before Congress in a more than three hour session Wednesday morning. In prepared remarks, Powell said that “uncertainties” around trade tensions and the strength of the global economy continued to mire the central bank’s U.S. economic outlook. He reiterated that many Fed officials at the June meeting saw that “the case for a somewhat more accommodative monetary policy had strengthened.”

‘Insurance’

Ahead of Powell’s address, equity markets were cheering for Powell to affirm that the Fed would move forward with easier monetary policy, even after stronger-than-expected employment data last week reflected a still-strong domestic economy. As the testimony carried on, many observers believed the Powell had all but guaranteed that the central bank would cut rates by the end of its July meeting.

“The Fed seems to be willing to dismiss the better data from the U.S. and instead is focusing on the weaker global data,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts wrote in a note Wednesday afternoon. “Indeed, when Powell was asked if the strong jobs report changed his views on cuts, he stated ‘no.’”

Other economists interpreted Powell’s remarks similarly.

“Chair Jerome Powell’s semi-annual testimony to Congress indicates that, despite the trade truce following the recent G-20 meeting and the strength of employment growth in June, the Fed intends to push ahead with a rate cut at the FOMC meeting at the end of this month,” Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist for Capital Economics, wrote in a note.