02:01 PM EST, 12/27/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were lower intraday amid declines in certain mega-cap stocks.

The Nasdaq Composite was down 1.9% at 19,635.5 after midday Friday, while the S&P 500 fell 1.4% to 5,950.2. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1% to 42,874.5. All sectors were lower, led by consumer discretionary and technology.

Shares of chip-making giant Nvidia ( NVDA ) fell 2.6%, the steepest decline on the Dow. Tech majors Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Apple ( AAPL ) were among the worst performers on the Dow, along with e-commerce giant Amazon.com ( AMZN ) .

Electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA) saw the biggest drop on the Nasdaq and the second-biggest on the S&P 500, down 4.6%.

Lamb Weston ( LW ) shareholder Jana Partners has added Jeff Delapp to its slate of nominees for a potential overhaul of the frozen potato products supplier's board. Lamb Weston ( LW ) shares were up 4%, the best performer on the S&P 500.

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) and Amedisys ( AMED ) agreed to extend the deadline of their proposed merger as the deal faces scrutiny from the US Department of Justice over competition concerns. Amedisys ( AMED ) shares were up 4.7%, while UnitedHealth ( UNH ) fell 0.6%.

The US 10-year yield rose 3.6 basis points to 4.62% intraday, while the two-year rate fell 1.8 basis points to 4.31%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 1.4% at $70.60 a barrel intraday.

Gold fell 0.8% to $2,631.70 per troy ounce, while silver lost 1.4% to $29.98 per ounce.