U.S. stocks closed mixed Tuesday, as investors meditated on remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11.77 points, or 0.05 percent, to 22,284.32. The S&P 500 edged up 0.18 point, or 0.01 percent, to 2,496.84. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 9.57 points, or 0.15 percent, to 6,380.16.

Yellen said Tuesday that the case for a gradual pace of adjustments is strengthened in the face of significant uncertainties and that the Fed should be wary of moving too gradually.

"With gradual adjustments in monetary policy, inflation will stabilize at around the FOMC's (Federal Open Market Committee) 2 percent objective over the next few years, accompanied by some further strengthening in labor market conditions," she said.

The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates twice this year. Last week, policymakers pointed to one more rate hike later this year and three for the next year after the conclusion of a two-day policy meeting.

On the economic front, U.S. sales of new single-family houses in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 560,000, missing market consensus, said the Commerce Department Tuesday.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index came in at 119.8 in September, down from 120.4 in August and generally in line with market estimates.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 5.9-percent annual gain in July, up from 5.8 percent in the previous month, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices Tuesday.