By Niket Nishant and Tharuniyaa Lakshmi
Sept 9 (Reuters) - The main U.S. stock indexes fell on Wednesday as oil prices soared past $100 a barrel and Treasury yields rose, putting pressure on equities ahead of crucial inflation data expected later in the week.
Apple dropped 1.1% ahead of its first launch event under new CEO John Ternus, where it is expected to unveil a folding iPhone. Other technology heavyweights also fell, with Nvidia and Alphabet down 0.60% and 2.54%, respectively.
Meta was an outlier,
climbing 5.95% and stemming declines on the S&P 500 after the company rolled out a long-touted AI assistant that can autonomously send emails, sell a car or make travel bookings on behalf of users.
Chipmakers Arm Holdings and AMD were also up, rising 1.13% and 3.69%, respectively. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index added 0.47%.
Concerns over global oil supply after a flare-up in Middle East tensions pushed Brent crude above the market-sensitive $100-a-barrel mark on Wednesday. Now in its seventh month, the U.S.-Iran war has heightened fears of a broader regional conflict, adding to the uncertain mood.
The energy index was the only one in the green on the S&P 500, advancing 0.95%.
"The big story of the day is oil prices, and they are taking the wind out of stocks. We've seen pockets of strength in the markets, but sentiment varies on a day-to-day basis," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities.
Additionally, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to its highest since November 2023 after the Treasury Department said it would buy up to $6 billion in 10-to-20-year government bonds.
High yields on risk-free government bonds typically pressure stocks by making it less attractive for investors to take on the added risk of holding equities.
The Treasury's $6 billion buyback was higher than the $4 billion it had signaled earlier, but some analysts had expected an even larger purchase, in the range of $8 billion to $10 billion.
While "interventionist" policies may prove temporarily successful in containing long-end yields, "the sheer magnitude of the U.S. financing needs will likely necessitate increasing long-end debt issuance," said Said Haidar, founder of Haidar Capital Management.
At 11:53 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 397.51 points, or 0.75%, to 52,390.60, the S&P 500 shed 34.18 points, or 0.45%, to 7,639.34, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 163.17 points, or 0.62%, to 26,258.24.
The overall declines make the market backdrop more fragile in a month that has been historically weak for returns.
INFLATION DATA LOOMS
The Consumer Price Index report scheduled for Friday and Producer Price Index data on Thursday will be in focus for clues on the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest-rate path.
"This week's CPI report is the most consequential data point before the Fed's September meeting, the last inflation reading policymakers will see before deciding on rates," Glenmede strategists wrote.
Markets see a 62.4% chance interest rates will be increased by 25 basis points when the U.S. central bank meets next week, according to data from CME's FedWatch.
Dow fell 0.59% after Bloomberg News reported the chemicals maker was considering exiting its $20 billion partnership with Saudi Aramco.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.93-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.62-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted six new 52-week highs and 20 new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 23 new highs and 121 new lows.
(Reporting by Niket Nishant and Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das and Pooja Desai)
