03:50 PM EDT, 05/14/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes rose ahead of Tuesday's close as investors analyzed remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and official producer prices data for April.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.8% at 16,513.3, while the S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 5,245.2. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3% to 39,557.9. Among sectors, technology and real estate led the gainers, and consumer staples and energy were the lone decliners.

Restrictive monetary policy may take longer to impact inflation than was expected, requiring the Federal Open Market Committee to keep rates higher for longer, Powell said Tuesday.

The US economy is performing "very well" with a strong labor market and rising employment and wages, though with some signs of "gradual" cooling, Powell said at the annual general meeting of the Foreign Bankers' Association.

The US two-year yield fell 3.4 basis points to 4.82%, while the 10-year rate dropped 3.2 basis points to 4.45%.

US producer prices rebounded above market expectations on a sequential basis last month, while wholesale costs logged the highest annual increase in a year, government data showed.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 1.4% to $78.04 per barrel.