US stocks slipped for a second consecutive day, ending mostly lower on concerns the Federal Reserve could trigger a US recession, as more central bankers said interest rates have to rise further to contain inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was essentially flat, closing at 33,546.32, but the broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.3 percent to 3,946.56, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.4 percent to finish at 11,144.96. Investors also were digesting mixed quarterly results, with Cisco Systems shares jumping around five percent after earnings exceeded expectations, but others like chip company Nvidia struggling amid ongoing issues facing the semiconductor industry. Meanwhile, St Louis Fed President James Bullard was the latest in a string of central bankers saying more rate hikes will be needed because the benchmark lending rate is not yet “sufficiently restrictive.” The Fed has moved aggressively to douse red-hot inflation, raising the benchmark lending rate six times this year to cool demand. Kansas City Fed President Esther George on Wednesday cautioned that it is unclear how policymakers can tamp down inflation “without having some real slowing, and maybe we even have contraction in the economy.”