01:14 PM EDT, 05/20/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark stock indexes traded mixed after midday Monday as investors weighed remarks from top Federal Reserve officials on the path ahead for monetary policy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell less than 0.1% to 39,978.2, erasing earlier gains. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 5,319.2, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.7% to 16,80.3. Technology paced the gainers.

The US 10-year Treasury yield rose 2.3 basis points to 4.44%, and the two-year rate climbed 1.6 basis points to 4.84%.

Recent data show that inflation is still behind the Fed's 2% target and suggests that holding interest rates at a restrictive level for a time is needed, Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr said at the Atlanta Fed's Central Banking in the Post-Pandemic Financial System 28th Annual Financial Markets Conference.

"As noted in the FOMC's statement following our meeting earlier this month, inflation readings in the first quarter of this year were disappointing," Barr said. "These results did not provide me with the increased confidence that I was hoping to find to support easing monetary policy by reducing the federal funds rate. This means that we will need to allow our restrictive policy some further time to continue to do its work."

Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic said in an interview with Bloomberg inflation will "continue to fall for this year and into 2025," but prices will ease slower than many expected.

Weaker inflation signals are looming, Morgan Stanley said in a note. After substantial reflation in Q1, lower numbers will likely emerge later this year as rents, goods and other services indicate inflation will decelerate, Ellen Zentner, chief US economist, said in the note.

Underpinning the stock rally to records, "there are signs that earnings growth has taken over as the key driver of returns following a period of substantial valuation multiple expansion, and we think a broadening EPS recovery will help to underpin the market from here." Oxford Economics said in a note.

Nvidia, a big contributor to the technology sector rally, is scheduled to release its quarterly earnings Wednesday.

In company news, Norwegian Cruise Line ( NCLH ) shares jumped 8.3%, the biggest gain on the S&P 500, after the company increased its 2024 adjusted earnings guidance due to "strong demand and an improved outlook for the year." Rivals Carnival (CCL) rose 6.8%, the third-biggest increase on the S&P, and Royal Caribbean Cruises ( RCL ) climbed 5.1%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped 0.7% to $79.53 a barrel.

Gold rose 0.6% to $2,431.21 an ounce after reaching a record $2,454.20 intraday. Silver jumped 3% to $32.21.