04:56 PM EDT, 10/07/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes declined Monday while oil prices surged amid persistent uncertainty around the geopolitical situation in the Middle East.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.2% to 17,923.9, and the S&P 500 decreased 1% to 5,695.9. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.9% to 41,954.2. Utilities saw the steepest decline among sectors, down 2.3%, while energy was the sole gainer.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil jumped 4% to $77.35 a barrel, while Brent advanced 3.9% to $81.10.

Oil prices continue to rise amid the risk of an Israeli retaliation attack on Iran, with concerns that a strike on the latter's oil and gas industry could result in a tight supply and potentially widen the conflict in the region, Saxo Bank said in a report published Monday.

At least 10 firefighters have been killed in an Israeli air strike in a border area in southern Lebanon, BBC News reported, citing the Lebanese health ministry.

Last week, Iran carried out a missile attack on Israel in retaliation over the latter's recent killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and an Iranian commander in Lebanon.

The US two-year yield rose 6.1 basis points to 3.99% Monday, while the 10-year rate added 4.5 basis points to 4.03%.

Official data are likely to show Thursday that US consumer inflation rose 0.1% sequentially and 2.3% annually last month, according to a Bloomberg-compiled consensus.

The US producer prices report for September is scheduled to be released Friday.

On Friday, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the economy added more jobs than expected last month, while the unemployment rate edged down.

"A significantly stronger-than-expected employment report not only calls into question the (Federal Reserve's) latest outsized rate cut decision in September, but also the size of additional rate cuts needed going forward," Stifel said in a Monday note to clients.

Separately, Wells Fargo Investment Institute said the market is "too optimistic" about the Fed's monetary-policy easing, with Fed funds futures suggesting an additional 200 basis points of interest rate cuts by the end of 2025.

Last month, the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee reduced its benchmark lending rate by 50 basis points versus a Bloomberg-compiled consensus indicating a 25-basis-point cut.

In company news, Deckers Outdoor ( DECK ) shares dropped 4.8%, among the steepest declines on the S&P 500, as Seaport Global downgraded the stock to neutral from buy.

Barnes Group ( B ) agreed to be acquired and taken private by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management ( APO ) in a deal that values the industrial company at about $3.6 billion. Barnes shares rose 2.7%, while Apollo fell 0.8%.

Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ) shares jumped nearly 16%, the best performer on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, after the company said it recently deployed more than 100,000 graphics processing units in one quarter.

Gold fell 0.2% to $2,661.80 per troy ounce, while silver dropped 1.4% to $31.96 per ounce.