04:38 PM EDT, 04/03/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes closed mixed Wednesday as markets parsed the latest remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2% to 16,277.5, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.1% to 5,211.5. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% to 39,127.1. Among sectors, communication services and energy paced the gainers, while consumer staples led the decliners.

Powell said most policymakers expect that it would be appropriate to start reducing interest rates at some point in 2024, though more evidence is needed that inflation is easing.

"Given the strength of the economy and progress on inflation so far, we have time to let the incoming data guide our decisions on policy," Powell said in remarks prepared for a speech in Stanford, California.

Separately, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic indicated that he saw only one rate cut in 2024, possibly coming in the fourth quarter, according to media reports.

Last month, the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged, its fifth straight pause, and maintained expectations for three cuts this year. The FOMC started tightening monetary policy in March 2022 to combat inflation.

The US two-year yield fell 2.7 basis points to 4.67% Wednesday, while the 10-year rate lost 1.4 basis points to 4.35%.

In economic news, the US services sector continued to grow in March but at a slower sequential pace as demand eased, according to two separate surveys by the Institute for Supply Management and S&P Global (SPGI).

Employment in the US private sector last month grew at the fastest pace since July, while there were signs pointing to wage growth picking up, Automatic Data Processing reported.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.5% to $85.54 per barrel Wednesday. Commercial crude stockpiles in the US increased by 3.2 million barrels to 451.4 million barrels in the week ended March 29, the Energy Information Administration said. The consensus estimate on Bloomberg was for a decline of 1 million barrels.

In company news, NRG Energy ( NRG ) agreed to repurchase $251 million of its convertible senior notes due 2048. The shares rose 5%, among the top gains on the S&P 500.

Intel ( INTC ) shares slid 8.2%, the steepest decline on the Nasdaq and the Dow. The chipmaker restated operating losses for its foundry business as it reorganizes its financial reporting structure to save costs and provide greater transparency.

Gold rose 1.6% to $2,318.20 per troy ounce, while silver jumped 4.9% to $27.19 per ounce.