02:00 PM EDT, 03/21/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were lower intraday as traders parsed the latest remarks by a Federal Reserve official.

The S&P 500 was down 0.3% at 5,647.2 after midday Friday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1% each to 41,906.7 and 17,665.9, respectively. Among sectors, materials and energy saw the biggest drops, while communication services led the gainers.

New York Fed President John Williams said the future is "highly uncertain" amid mixed signals from recent data.

"I expect (US economic) growth this year to step down from last year's pace in part because of a slowdown in labor force growth due to lower immigration rates," Williams said. "There are many scenarios that could play out, depending on fiscal and trade policies and geopolitical and other developments."

On Wednesday, the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee decided to leave interest rates unchanged for a second straight meeting. Policymakers kept their interest rate outlook intact through 2027, while downgrading economic growth projections.

US Treasury yields were mixed intraday Friday, with the two-year rate dropping 1.3 basis points to 3.94% and the 10-year rate adding 1.5 basis points to 4.25%.

In company news, Nike ( NKE ) shares decreased 5.7%, the steepest decline on the Dow and among the worst on the S&P 500. The sportswear giant late Thursday flagged revenue and gross margin declines in its fiscal fourth quarter amid tariffs and the company's ongoing transformation efforts.

Boeing ( BA ) shares were up 5.2% intraday Friday, the top performer on the Dow and the second-best on the S&P 500. The plane maker has reportedly won a multibillion dollar contract to design and build a fighter jet for the US Air Force, beating Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) . Shares of Lockheed tumbled 7%.

Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ) shares jumped 7.7%, the best performer on the S&P 500, as JPMorgan upgraded the stock to neutral from underweight and adjusted its price target to $45 from $35.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.3% at $68.27 a barrel.

Gold fell 0.7% to $3,021.50 per troy ounce, while silver dropped 1.5% to $33.48 per ounce.