05:02 PM EDT, 06/25/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes closed mixed Tuesday as markets weighed remarks by Federal Reserve officials and the latest economic data.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.3% to 17,717.7, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.4% to 5,469.3. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8% to 39,112.2. Communication services and technology led the gainers among sectors. Real estate posted the steepest decline.

The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee is not yet able to lower the policy rate, Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said. Policymakers should consider multiple scenarios and "remain cautious" about reducing interest rates too soon or too quickly, she said.

Fed Governor Lisa Cook said the FOMC will tread carefully to observe incoming data and consider multiple outcomes for the economy when managing monetary policy.

The US two-year yield rose 1.1 basis points to 4.75%, while the 10-year rate was little changed at 4.25%.

In economic news, the US consumer confidence index fell to 100.4 this month from a downwardly revised 101.3 in May, the Conference Board said. The consensus on Bloomberg was for a 100 print.

"Confidence pulled back in June but remained within the same narrow range that's held throughout the past two years, as strength in current labor market views continued to outweigh concerns about the future," Conference Board Chief Economist Dana Peterson said.

US home prices increased to a record in April, though the pace of growth slowed both sequentially and annually, S&P Dow Jones Indices said.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency said US home prices rose by 0.2% sequentially on a seasonally adjusted basis in April, following the previous month's downwardly revised flat reading. The consensus was for a 0.3% increase in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Manufacturing activity in the US Mid-Atlantic region contracted more than expected in June amid steep declines in shipments and new orders, according to data released by the Richmond Fed.

Separately, the Chicago Fed said its national activity index swung to 0.18 in May from minus 0.26 the previous month.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 1% to $80.80 per barrel Tuesday.

In company news, Carnival (CCL) shares jumped 8.7%, the top performer on the S&P 500, as the cruise operator raised its full-year earnings outlook after unexpectedly swinging to a fiscal second-quarter profit, buoyed by significantly higher prices on bookings taken during the period.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) was the best performer on the Nasdaq and the second-best on the S&P 500, up 6.8%.

Pool (POOL) shares fell 8%, the steepest decline on the S&P 500. The swimming pool supplies and equipment distributor late Monday cut its full-year earnings outlook. The company said it expected declining sales to impact second-quarter results as it sees "persistently weak demand" and sluggish consumer spending.

Gold dropped 0.6% to $2,330.60 per troy ounce, while silver slumped 2.1% to $28.90 per ounce.