12:31 PM EST, 11/15/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes fell after stronger-than-expected retail sales corroborated Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's recent comments on the speed at which monetary policy easing is required to stimulate the economy.

The S&P 500 dropped 1.4% to 5,867.7 after midday on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8% to 43,400.3 and the Nasdaq Composite slumped 2.3% to 18,673.2. Consumer discretionary, technology, and communication services led the decliners intraday while the utilities sector was the biggest gainer.

Powell, on Thursday, said the US economy is "not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry" to ease monetary policy after October producer price growth data released the same day showed sequential acceleration. Earlier in the week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed consumer price inflation index increased in line with market estimates for last month.

In economic news Friday, the US retail sales data from the US Commerce Department showed a 0.4% jump in October, a bigger increase than the 0.3% gain expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following the previous month's 0.8% move higher.

US Treasury yields rose intraday, with the 10-year up 2.9 basis points to 4.45% and the two-year climbed 1.6 basis points to 4.31%.

In company news, Applied Materials ( AMAT ) shares slumped 8% intraday, the worst performer on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, after the company reported a decline in fiscal Q4 GAAP earnings.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil retreated 1.7% to $67.52 a barrel.