02:21 PM EDT, 08/22/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were lower intraday as markets parsed comments by two Federal Reserve officials and awaited Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The Nasdaq Composite was down 1.5% at 17,648.2 after midday Thursday, while the S&P 500 fell 1% to 5,566.9. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.7% to 40,588.5. Among sectors, technology saw the steepest decline, while energy led the gainers.

The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee likely needs to start a process of moving its benchmark lending rate down "this September," Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker told CNBC from Jackson Hole. "Right now, I'm not in the camp of 25 or 50 (basis-point cut)," Harker reportedly said. "I need to see a couple more weeks of data."

Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid told CNBC he doesn't believe monetary policy is "over-restrictive," according to the report. Harker is schedule to be a voting member of the FOMC in 2026, while Schmid gets to vote next year.

Powell is scheduled to speak at the Jackson Hole symposium Friday.

On Wednesday, minutes from the FOMC's July 30-31 meeting showed that a "vast majority" of policymakers indicated last month that monetary policy easing in September would likely be appropriate if new data continued to be in line with expectations.

The US 10-year yield rose 9.1 basis points to 3.97% intraday, while the two-year rate increased nine basis points to 4.01%.

In company news, Moderna ( MRNA ) shares were down 4.7%, the biggest drop on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

Advance Auto Parts ( AAP ) posted a bigger-than-expected drop in fiscal second-quarter earnings and cut its full-year outlook, while the auto part retailer announced the sale of its Worldpac wholesale business to Carlyle Group ( CG ) for $1.5 billion in cash. Advance Auto shares slumped 16%, while Carlyle fell 0.5%.

Peloton Interactive ( PTON ) shares jumped nearly 36% after the fitness company's fiscal fourth-quarter revenue unexpectedly increased and it guided for gross margin expansion in fiscal 2025 despite softer sales expected in the ongoing year.

Intuit (INTU), Workday (WDAY) and Ross Stores ( ROST ) are among the companies scheduled to report results after Thursday's closing bell.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.7% to $73.17 a barrel intraday.

In economic news, weekly applications for unemployment insurance in the US increased, while continuing claims reached its highest level since late November 2021, the Department of Labor said.

Gold was down 1.2% at $2,518.10 per troy ounce, while silver fell 1.5% to $29.1 per ounce.