Sept. 9 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as oil prices soared above $100 a barrel, while Apple dipped and Treasury yields rose ahead of crucial inflation data expected later in the week.
Worries about the global oil supply and a flare-up in Middle East tensions pushed Brent crude above the market-sensitive $100-a-barrel mark. The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, now in its seventh month, has stoked fears of a broader regional conflict, with high oil prices fueling inflation.
The S&P 500 energy index .SPNY rose 1.2%, while all other sector indexes fell.
Treasury yields, Fed expectations and market breadth
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. Some analysts had expected a larger purchase, in the range of $8 billion to $10 billion.
Higher yields on risk-free government bonds make it less attractive for investors to own stocks.
"That's leaving markets a little concerned, particularly as we don't have a lot to go on in terms of earnings expectations until we start to get into third-quarter reporting season," said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Seattle.
U.S. Producer Price Index data on Thursday and consumer price data on Friday will be in focus for clues on the Federal Reserve's interest-rate path. Traders are pricing in a 60% chance the Fed will raise interest rates at its policy meeting next week.
The S&P 500 was down 0.36% at 7,645.67 points.
The Nasdaq declined 0.55% to 26,276.96 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.59% at 52,475.08 points.
The S&P 500 is down 2% from its August 13 record high close, and it remains up about 12% in 2026.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index .SOX added 0.4%, with Advanced Micro Devices AMD.O up 3.5%.
Dow DOW.N fell 0.5% after Bloomberg News reported the chemicals maker was considering exiting its $20 billion partnership with Saudi Aramco 2222.SE.
Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500 .AD.SPX by a 3.2-to-one ratio.
The S&P 500 posted six new highs and 21 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 28 new highs and 137 new lows.
Apple, Meta and Alphabet move on AI and investment news
Apple AAPL.O dropped 1.1% as it held its first smartphone launch under new CEO John Ternus.
Meta META.O jumped 5.95% and stemmed the S&P 500's decline after the social media company rolled out a long-touted AI assistant that can autonomously send emails, sell a car or make travel bookings on behalf of users.
Alphabet GOOGL.O declined 2.4% after the Google parent said it would invest at least $15.1 billion in AI infrastructure in Finland over the next two years, including a major deal for the supply of nuclear power.
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