NEW YORK — Stock indexes closed lower Tuesday, giving up earlier gains, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the economic recovery remains uneven. Bernanke offered no new steps to stimulate growth. The Dow Jones industrial average had been up as many as 89 points but turned lower in the late afternoon as Bernanke’s speech started. The Dow’s loss of 19 was the fifth straight decline for the index, the longest string of losses since August.

Bernanke said the U.S. economy had not grown as quickly as had been expected so far this year. He said growth has been held back by disruptions of industrial supplies from Japan following the tsunami and nuclear disaster there and higher gas prices.