03:51 PM EST, 11/14/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were lower ahead of Thursday's close as markets parsed comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and the latest producer prices data.

The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.7% at 19,098.1, while the S&P 500 fell 0.6% to 5,949.6. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.5% to 43,737.2. Among sectors, industrials saw the biggest drop, while energy is the only sector in the green.

"The economy is not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates," Powell said. "The strength we are currently seeing in the economy gives us the ability to approach our decisions carefully."

Last week, the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee cut rates by 25 basis points, following a 50-basis-point reduction in September.

US producer price growth accelerated in October sequentially as wholesale costs of goods rebounded, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. BLS data showed Wednesday that US consumer inflation increased in line with market estimates last month.

The US 10-year yield fell 1.8 basis points to 4.43%, while the two-year rate rose 6.9 basis points to 4.35%.

Applied Materials ( AMAT ) is scheduled to report its latest quarterly financial results after the closing bell, along with other companies.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.3% at $68.62 a barrel.