02:21 PM EDT, 10/01/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were falling intraday while oil prices soared after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel.

The Nasdaq Composite was down 1.9% at 17,836.7 after midday Tuesday, while the S&P 500 fell 1.2% to 5,694.1. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6% to 42,055.4. Among sectors, technology saw the steepest decline. Only energy and utilities were in the green.

Iran's attack on Israel came in retaliation over the latter's recent killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and an Iranian commander in Lebanon, CNBC reported.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was surging 4.3% at $71.11 a barrel intraday.

In economic news, the US manufacturing sector remained in contraction territory in September amid soft demand and declining employment, according to data from the Institute for Supply Management and S&P Global ( SPGI ) .

"Combined with the (Federal Reserve) embarking on its rate-cutting cycle, there are some glimmers of optimism for a sector that has struggled under the weight of higher interest rates," TD Economics said in a report.

US job openings rose to 8.04 million in August from 7.71 million the previous month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The consensus was for a 7.67 million reading in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

The International Longshoremen's Association union launched a strike along the US East and Gulf Coast ports early Tuesday after rejecting the United States Maritime Alliance's final proposal on a new contract, prompting a shuttering of ports from Maine to Texas.

The US two-year yield fell 4.1 basis points to 3.61% intraday, while the 10-year rate decreased 6.3 basis points to 3.74%.

In company news, Apple's ( AAPL ) suppliers may have to import parts from China or elsewhere after a fire caused extensive damage at Tata Group's iPhone component plant in India over the weekend, Reuters reported. Apple's ( AAPL ) shares were down 3.7%, among the steepest declines on the Dow and the Nasdaq.

Paychex ( PAYX ) was the top performer on the S&P 500 and the second-best on the Nasdaq, up 5.2%, after the company logged higher-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results and reiterated its top- and bottom-line guidance.

Nike ( NKE ) , Lamb Weston ( LW ) and Cal-Maine Foods ( CALM ) are scheduled to report their latest quarterly financial results after Tuesday's closing bell.

Gold was up 0.9% at $2,683.70 per troy ounce, while silver rose 0.6% to $31.65 per ounce.