02:07 PM EDT, 04/07/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were lower intraday, while oil prices moved higher as President Donald Trump's deadline for Iran to make a deal loomed.

The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.5% at 21,883.5 after midday Tuesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% to 46,485.5. The S&P 500 dropped 0.3% to 6,590.9. Among sectors, consumer staples saw the biggest decline, while communication services paced the gainers.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 1.5% at $114.06 a barrel intraday.

Trump has set an 8 pm ET Tuesday deadline for Iran to agree to a ceasefire deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade chokepoint.

"A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again," Trump said in a social media post Tuesday. "Maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, who knows."

Trump's threat is a "sign of ignorance" that is unlikely to help potential dialogue, CNN reported, citing an interview given by Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

Although there has been progress in the last 24 hours in the US-Iran negotiations, striking a ceasefire deal by Trump's deadline seems unlikely, Axios reported, citing several sources.

The US hit military targets on Iran's Kharg Island, CNN reported, citing a US official, though oil facilities were spared.

US Treasury yields were higher intraday, with the 10-year rate up 1.8 basis points at 4.35% and the two-year rate rising one basis point to 3.86%.

In economic news, demand for US durable goods decreased more than estimated in February amid weakness in the aircraft component, government data showed.

"February's decline in durable goods orders reflected aircraft-driven swings rather than overall weakness," BMO Capital Markets said in a note. "Stripping out transportation suggests business investment will continue to support overall economic growth early this year."

In company news, Apple ( AAPL ) shares were down 2.8% intraday, among the worst performers on the Dow. The technology giant is facing issues in the engineering test phase of its foldable iPhone, potentially delaying the smartphone's production and shipment schedules, Nikkei Asia reported, citing unnamed sources.

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) shares jumped nearly 11%, the top gainer on the S&P 500 and the Dow. Humana (HUM) surged 9%, while CVS Health ( CVS ) advanced 7.1%, both among the best S&P 500 performers. On Monday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services finalized 2027 Medicare Advantage payment rates above projections, Reuters reported.

Broadcom ( AVGO ) shares were up 5.7% intraday Tuesday, among the top gainers on the S&P 500. On Monday, the chipmaker agreed to produce artificial intelligence chips for Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google ( GOOG ) and expanded its collaboration with Amazon ( AMZN )-backed (AMZN) AI startup Anthropic.

Gold was up 0.4% at $4,701.90 per troy ounce, while silver fell 0.8% to $72.27 per ounce.