01:45 PM EDT, 06/20/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes traded mixed after midday Friday as investors weighed attempts to give diplomacy another chance in the Middle East and the impact of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy outlook for the year.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7% to 19,403.1, and the S&P 500 was down 0.4% to 5,958.2. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1% to 42,144.5. Consumer staples and energy were the top gainers intraday, while communication services emerged as the steepest decliner.

President Donald Trump will decide on a potential military action against Iran within the next two weeks, the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was cited in news reports Thursday, when the markets were closed for the Juneteenth public holiday. The decision will depend on the "substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place," she said.

The CBOE Volatility Index slumped 7.8% to 20.47 intraday.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures fell 0.2% to $74.99 a barrel.

The Federal Open Market Committee held interest rates steady on Wednesday for the fourth consecutive meeting, matching expectations as Fed Chair Jerome Powell outlined concerns that trade tariffs will raise price pressures. The Fed's latest Summary of Economic Projections showed expectations for higher inflation and slower growth, according to a Stifel research note.

"Taken together, the committee still anticipates two rate reductions by year-end, although the forecasts were again compressed towards the hawkish end of the spectrum," Stifel Chief Economist Lindsey Piegza said in the note. Four Fed policy meetings are due in H2, implying relatively quick reductions.

Investors assessed a "delay on potential Middle East military action [by the US] and Fed Chair Powell's remarks on persistent inflation," a D.A. Davidson note said.

Most US Treasury yields declined, with the 10-year down 2.8 basis points to 4.37%, and the two-year rate dropped 4.4 basis points to 3.9%.

In economic news, the Conference Board's measure of leading indicators fell 0.1% in May, as expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey and a 1.4% decrease in April.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's monthly manufacturing index was unchanged in June from minus 4 in May, compared with expectations for an improvement to minus 1.5 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The index indicates contraction, which is in line with the Empire State reading released on Monday.

In company news, shares of Kroger ( KR ) jumped 9.2% intraday, the top performer on the S&P 500, after the company reported fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings that increased year-over-year and beat analysts' expectations.

The worst performer was Accenture ( ACN ) , down 7.5%, after the consulting firm lifted its full-year outlook for earnings and reported fiscal Q3 results above market expectations while reporting an annual decline in bookings.