02:18 PM EDT, 04/02/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were lower intraday as investors assessed the latest job openings data and comments by a Federal Reserve official.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.2% at 39,080.8 after midday Tuesday, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.1% to 16,208.1. The S&P 500 fell 0.9% to 5,194.2. Among sectors, health care and consumer discretionary led the decliners. Only energy and utilities were in the green.

In economic news, US vacancies came in at about 8.76 million as of the last day of February, up narrowly from January's downwardly revised 8.75 million print, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The consensus was for a decline to 8.73 million openings in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Job separations, which include quits and layoffs, increased to 5.56 million from 5.45 million month over month.

The latest report is consistent with a labor market that is "still quite healthy, easing any concerns among (Fed) officials about the downside risks to the economy from taking a patient approach toward rate cuts," Oxford Economics said in a note.

The US 10-year yield rose 3.8 basis points to 4.37% intraday, while the two-year rate fell 1.3 basis points to 4.71%.

Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said that although inflation is likely to continue on its downward path to 2% over time, she needs to see more data to boost her confidence regarding price stability. "Some further monthly readings will give us a better sense of whether the disinflation process is stalling out or whether the start-of-the-year readings reflect a temporary detour on the downward path back to price stability," Mester said.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.3% to $84.88 per barrel intraday.

In company news, Humana (HUM), CVS Health (CVS) and UnitedHealth Group (UNH) shares fell 15%, 8% and 7.9%, respectively, the steepest declines on the S&P 500. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Monday said the US government would increase payments to Medicare Advantage plans by 3.7% on average year over year. That wasn't as much as the insurance industry and investors were expecting, CNBC reported.

Tesla (TSLA) was the worst performer on the Nasdaq, down 4.9%, after the electric vehicle maker's first-quarter deliveries missed analysts' expectations and decreased both on sequential and annual bases, partially impacted by factory shutdowns.

General Electric (GE) completed the separation of its renewable energy business, GE Vernova (GEV), wrapping up the company's multi-year transformation.

Gold was up 1.2% at $2,283.70 per troy ounce, while silver jumped 3.6% to $25.97 per ounce.