04:02 PM EDT, 09/20/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes ended mixed Friday as traders assessed remarks by two Federal Reserve governors.

* Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said Friday she preferred a smaller 25-basis-point cut at the meeting.

* "Although it is important to recognize that there has been meaningful progress on lowering inflation, while core inflation remains around or above 2.5%, I see the risk that the committee's larger policy action could be interpreted as a premature declaration of victory on our price stability mandate," Bowman said.

* Separately, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he was in the 50-basis-point-cut camp because "inflation is softening much faster" than he thought, CNBC reported.

* State-level data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the unemployment rate rose in six states and the District of Columbia in August, fell in only one state, Connecticut, and held steady elsewhere.

* October West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed down $0.03 to settle at $71.92 per barrel, while November Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $0.38 at $74.50 as traders took profits following day-prior gains prompted by a cut to US interest rates even as the threat of an expanding Mideast war is on the rise.

* Constellation Energy ( CEG ) signed a 20-year power purchase deal with Microsoft ( MSFT ) that would result in the energy company restarting the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania to help power the technology giant's data centers with carbon-free energy. Constellation shares jumped 21%.

* FedEx ( FDX ) shares were down 15% as the parcel delivery company's fiscal Q1 results unexpectedly declined year over year amid weak demand trends.