05:04 PM EDT, 08/22/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes fell Thursday as markets evaluated 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 slid 1.7% to 17,619.4, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.9% to 5,570.6. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.4% to 40,712.8. Technology saw the steepest decline among sectors, while real estate led the gainers.

The central bank's monetary policy 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 scheduled to be a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee 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 at the time that monetary policy easing in September would likely be appropriate if new data continued to be in line with expectations.

The US two-year yield rose 10 basis points to 4.02% Thursday, while the 10-year rate increased 8.7 basis points to 3.86%.

In economic news, US private-sector output growth fell to a four-month low in August amid continued weakness in manufacturing, though the one-year headline outlook improved, according to S&P Global's ( SPGI ) flash purchasing managers' index.

"The key takeaways from the survey are that inflation is continuing to slowly return to normal levels and that the economy is at risk of slowing amid imbalances," said Chris Williamson, S&P Global Market Intelligence's chief business economist.

Manufacturing activity in the US Midwest region improved more than expected into shallower contraction territory this month as production swung positive, the Kansas City Fed reported.

US existing home sales edged higher on a month-over-month basis in July as unsold inventory fell, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.4% to $72.94 a barrel.

In company news, the US Food and Drug Administration approved and granted emergency use authorization for updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Moderna ( MRNA ) and Pfizer ( PFE ) . Moderna ( MRNA ) shares fell 6.5%, the steepest decline on the Nasdaq and the S&P 500, while Pfizer ( PFE ) closed 0.9% lower.

Advance Auto Parts ( AAP ) posted a bigger-than-expected drop in fiscal second-quarter earnings and cut its full-year outlook. 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 nearly 18%, while Carlyle fell 1.3%.

Peloton Interactive ( PTON ) shares jumped 35% 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.

Gold dropped 1.1% to $2,519.80 per troy ounce, while silver declined 2% to $28.96 per ounce.