Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday that the Federal Reserve will likely cut its key interest rate slowly and deliberately in the coming months, in part because inflation has shown signs of persistence and the Fed's officials want to see where it heads next.

Indexes slipped as traders zeroed in on remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who said the central bank is in no hurry to cut rates amid a strong economy.

Powell, in prepared remarks for a speech in Dallas, said that inflation is edging closer to the Fed’s 2 percent target, “but it is not there yet.” At the same time, he said,