01:26 PM EST, 11/15/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes fell Friday as bets for an interest-rate cut in December receded amid stronger-than-expected retail sales corroborating Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's recent comments drawing the market's focus on the speed of monetary policy easing.

The S&P 500 dropped 1.4% to 5,864.1, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.9% to 43,360.2 and the Nasdaq Composite slipping 2.4% to 18,648.6. Technology, health care and communication services were the steepest decliners intraday, while the utilities sector was the biggest gainer.

The probability that the Federal Open Market Committee will cut interest rates by 25 basis points in December declined to 62% from 72% a day ago, according to the CME group's FedWatch Tool Friday. The remaining likelihood was for the Fed to pause its easing cycle kick-started in September.

Powell on Thursday said the US economy is "not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry" to ease monetary policy after October producer price growth data released the same day showed sequential acceleration. Earlier in the week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed consumer price inflation index increased in line with market estimates for last month.

In economic news Friday, the US retail sales data from the US Commerce Department showed a 0.4% jump in October, a bigger increase than the 0.3% gain expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following the previous month's 0.8% move higher.

US industrial production fell by 0.3% in October, versus expectations for a 0.4% decrease in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and a downwardly revised 0.5% decrease in September.

"A strike at a major producer of civilian aircraft held down total IP growth by an estimated 0.3 percentage point in September and 0.2 percentage point in October," the Federal Reserve said in the release. "Hurricane Milton and the lingering effects of Hurricane Helene together reduced October IP growth 0.1 percentage point."

The New York Federal Reserve's Empire State manufacturing index rebounded to 31.2 in November after falling to minus 11.9 in October, compared with a flat reading expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The Empire State index is the first reading for the manufacturing sector for November and suggests a return to expansion.

Most US Treasury yields rose intraday, with the 10-year up one basis point to 4.43%.

In company news, Applied Materials ( AMAT ) shares slumped almost 9% intraday, the worst performer on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, after the company reported a decline in fiscal Q4 GAAP earnings that also missed consensus.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil slumped 2.4% to $67.06 a barrel.

Gold fell 0.3% to $2,566.01 an ounce, and silver slid 0.7% to $30.37 an ounce.