02:14 PM EDT, 05/29/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were lower after midday Wednesday, as markets awaited a second official reading on first-quarter economic growth due Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1% at 38,842.1 intraday, while the S&P 500 fell 0.6% to 5,273.8. The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.4% to 16,946.9 after closing above the 17,000 level for the first time in the previous session. All sectors were in the red intraday, led by energy and utilities.

Government data are likely to show Thursday that the US economy grew at an annual rate of 1.3% in the March quarter, compared with a previously reported 1.6% gain, according to a Bloomberg-compiled consensus.

The US 10-year yield rose 7.4 basis points to 4.62% intraday, while the two-year rate gained 2.6 basis points to 4.98%.

In company news, American Airlines Group ( AAL ) shares tumbled nearly 15%, the steepest decline on the S&P 500. The company said late Tuesday it expects per-share adjusted earnings in a range of $1 to $1.15 for the ongoing three-month period, down from its prior guidance of $1.15 to $1.45.

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) said it sees a "disturbance" coming in the company's Medicaid business, Bloomberg News reported. The company's shares were down 4.4%, the worst performer on the Dow.

ConocoPhillips ( COP ) agreed to acquire fellow energy company Marathon Oil ( MRO ) in an all-stock deal worth roughly $22.5 billion, including $5.4 billion of debt. Marathon Oil ( MRO ) shares jumped 8%, the best performer on the S&P 500, while ConocoPhillips ( COP ) declined 4%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 0.6% to $79.35 per barrel intraday.

The probability of US monetary policymakers increasing the benchmark lending rate is "quite low, but I don't want to take anything off the table," Bloomberg News reported Tuesday, citing Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

"Kashkari is the latest in a number of Fed officials to suggest not just a broader message of patience, but to quantify that message as a need for not just several, but "many" months of improving data, suggesting an even higher bar than before for the Fed to gain the needed confidence to move forward with rate cuts," Stifel said in a Wednesday note.

Gold was down 0.6% at $2,365.10 per troy ounce, while silver rose 0.7% to $32.35 per ounce.