03:52 PM EDT, 10/01/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were lower ahead of Tuesday's close while oil prices soared after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel.

The Nasdaq Composite was down 1.5% at 17,920.8, while the S&P 500 fell 0.7% to 5,723.0. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2% to 42,254.8. Among sectors, technology saw the steepest decline, while energy and utilities led the gainers.

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 2.9% at $70.17 a barrel.

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 ) .

The US 10-year yield fell 6.1 basis points to 3.74%, while the two-year rate decreased 3.6 basis points to 3.62%.

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