04:59 PM EDT, 03/19/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity benchmarks fell for a second consecutive session on Thursday amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, but finished off the day's lows as the rally in oil prices fizzled out.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.4% to 46,021.4. The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 fell 0.3% each to settle at 22,090.7 and 6,606.5, respectively. Most sectors ended in the red, led by materials.

Brent was up 0.1% at $107.48 a barrel in Thursday late-afternoon trade, giving up most of the gains that propelled the crude benchmark to slightly above $119 earlier in the session. West Texas Intermediate fell 1.2% to $94.31 per barrel, having topped $100 previously in the day.

Iran struck energy infrastructure across the Middle East, including a key liquefied natural gas export facility in Qatar. Previously, Israel struck Iran's South Pars gas field, which triggered a warning from Tehran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps to hit certain energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

The escalation of the Middle East conflict has sparked fears of a more prolonged disruption to Persian Gulf energy supplies, ING Bank said in a report Thursday.

"The move to strike Iranian energy assets is odd, given that the US administration has been trying over the last couple of weeks to ease the upward pressure on oil prices," ING said. "Attacks on energy infrastructure eclipse these factors and, especially amid retaliation, point to additional upside for prices."

The US has prepared a supply response aimed at mitigating the impact of potential temporary disruption around the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important chokepoint for crude flows, Fox Business reported Thursday, citing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

The Trump administration had already moved to "unsanction" Russian oil cargoes already on the water and could do the same with approximately 140 million barrels of Iranian oil in floating storage, Bessent reportedly said.

US Treasury yields were mixed, with the 10-year rate little changed at 4.26% and the two-year rate up 2.8 basis points to 3.81%.

In economic news, new-home sales in the US dropped more than estimated in January even as prices moved lower, delayed government data showed Thursday.

"We expect some rebound in sales, but the bounce back will likely be muted by the impact of the US-Israel war with Iran, which has pushed interest rates higher and is expected to delay the improvement we expected in the labor market," Oxford Economics said in a note.

Gold was last down 4.9% at $4,655.20 per troy ounce, while silver slumped 6.3% to $72.68 per ounce.

In company news, Alibaba Group ( BABA ) posted lower-than-expected fiscal third-quarter earnings, while the Chinese e-commerce giant's revenue fell short of estimates despite double-digit growth in its cloud business. The company's US-listed shares slid 7.1%.

Micron Technology ( MU ) shares fell 3.8%. The semiconductor manufacturer late Wednesday flagged higher spending plans amid memory supply constraints.

Accenture ( ACN ) raised its 2026 expectations Thursday amid strong demand for the consulting firm's artificial intelligence solutions, saying its guidance does not assume the worst-case scenario regarding the Middle East conflict. The company's shares advanced 4.3%, among the top gainers on the S&P 500.