04:03 PM EDT, 10/09/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes fell ahead of the close on Thursday as investors weighed the Federal Reserve's divisive September meeting minutes, and gold futures sank following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2% to 22,997.8, with the S&P 500 down 0.4% to 6,729.3 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.6% lower at 46,324.1. All sectors except consumer staples fell intraday, with industrials and materials emerging as the steepest decliners.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell offered no further insights on interest rates in a recorded address to a community bank conference in Washington on Thursday. Late on Wednesday, the minutes from the Sept. 16-17 Fed meeting showed division among policymakers on the path and pace of rate cuts, even though most rate-setters were open to additional policy easing.

Based on the meeting minutes, Fed officials were not "very dovish" in mid-September, according to a note from the Macquarie Group. And since then, non-official inflation indicators have not pointed to inflation easing, but rather to prices turning hotter, Thierry Wizman, global foreign-exchange and rates strategist, said in the note.

"With stocks rallying, gold spiking, and corporate credit spreads remaining tight, the OIS-implied probability of a Fed cut on October 29 seems to be too high. The right ballpark should be a 50-75% probability," Wizman said.

Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas reportedly signed a ceasefire and hostage release deal that is expected to take effect after Tel Aviv ratifies it. The truce is part of efforts to end the war in Gaza.

Gold futures dropped 1.9% to $3,994.71, retreating from an all-time high. Silver futures slumped 2.7% to $47.73, also declining from a record.