02:07 PM EDT, 08/26/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were mixed after midday Monday following a rally in the previous session that came as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the "time has come" for interest rate cuts.

The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.8% at 17,736.8 intraday, while the S&P 500 fell 0.2% to 5,621.6. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 41,263.7. Among sectors, technology saw the steepest decline, while energy paced the gainers.

"The time has come for policy to adjust," Powell said Friday at the annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, adding that upside risks to inflation have "diminished."

"The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks," he said.

Equity markets closed higher Friday.

"Recent data have been a touch weaker than the Fed had expected, but not dramatically so," Morgan Stanley said in a note e-mailed Monday. "We maintain our view that the cutting cycle will start with and continue with (25-basis-point) cuts... but a substantially weaker job market would mean bigger or more cuts."

The US two-year yield rose one basis point to 3.92% intraday, while the 10-year was little changed at 3.8%.

In economic news, US durable goods orders rebounded more than expected in July as defense and civilian aircraft returned to positive territory, government data showed.

"The better-than-expected figure was thanks to the nice rebound in transportation equipment," BMO said in a note to clients. "Boeing ( BA ) bookings soared after falling in June and defense aircraft bookings also took flight."

Texas manufacturing activity improved more than expected this month into shallower contraction territory as production and shipments swung positive, according to the Dallas Fed.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil jumped 3.2% to $77.24 a barrel intraday.

"A preemptive Israeli strike on Hezbollah over the weekend has raised concern about the Middle East once again," ING said in a Monday report. "We would expect any rally on the back of these developments to be rather short-lived except if Iran were to become more directly involved, as this would raise oil supply risks more meaningfully."

In company news, PDD's (PDD) US-listed American depositary receipts plunged 29%, the worst performer on the Nasdaq, after the Chinese e-commerce platform's second-quarter revenue increased year over year, but fell short of market estimates. The company expects competition and external challenges to impact its future results.

Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ) saw the steepest decline on the S&P 500 and the second-biggest on the Nasdaq, down 8.2%.

Lululemon Athletica ( LULU ) shares were up 1.8%, among the top gainers on the Nasdaq. The athletic apparel and footwear company has the potential to deliver an earnings beat and a guidance raise in its upcoming results amid "lower-quality" drivers, though it's likely to remain a "show-me" story in the near term, Morgan Stanley said in a note e-mailed Monday.

Gold was up 0.3% at $2,554.40 per troy ounce, while silver rose 0.6% to $30 per ounce.