02:18 PM EDT, 05/20/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were lower intraday as Wall Street parsed comments by a Federal Reserve official.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were down 0.4% each at 5,940.5 and 19,138.2, respectively, after midday Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% to 42,678.8. Among sectors, technology and energy saw the biggest drop, while utilities paced the gainers.

St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said Tuesday that tariffs are expected to "dampen" economic activity and result in "some further softening" of the labor market.

"Tariffs are also likely to have direct one-off effects on the prices of imported final goods, indirect effects on the prices of domestically produced goods and services, and possibly second-round effects on inflation," Musalem said in prepared remarks for an event in Minneapolis. "I believe that monetary policy is well positioned to navigate material changes in the economic outlook as they become apparent, and to deliver stable prices and maximum employment."

On Monday, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said he prefers only one rate cut in 2025 for now, CNBC reported. Bostic reportedly said that tariffs have been larger than the Fed anticipated at the start of the year.

US Treasury yields were mixed intraday Tuesday, with the two-year rate dropping 2.3 basis points to 3.96% and the 10-year rate advancing one basis point to 4.48%.

In company news, Airbnb ( ABNB ) shares were down 3.2%, among the worst performers on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. The Spanish government has ordered the vacation rental company to block more than 65,000 listings for allegedly violating rules set for vacation or temporary housing rentals, the Ministry of Social Rights and Consumption said Monday.

An Airbnb ( ABNB ) spokesperson told MT Newswires that the company will challenge the order.

Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) shares were up 3.9% intraday Tuesday, among the top gainers on the S&P 500, as Deutsche Bank raised its price target on the stock to $90 from $82.

Pfizer ( PFE ) shares rose 2.1%. The US pharmaceutical giant said late Monday it secured exclusive global rights, excluding China, to biopharmaceutical firm 3SBio's cancer treatment candidate in a licensing deal worth up to $6.05 billion.

Palo Alto Networks ( PANW ) and Keysight Technologies ( KEYS ) are among the companies scheduled to report their latest quarterly financial results after the closing bell Tuesday.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 0.3% at $62.52 a barrel intraday. "Oil inched lower as market assessed US-Iran talks," D.A. Davidson said in a client note.

Gold was up 1.7% at $3,287.40 per troy ounce, while silver jumped 2% to $33.17 per ounce.