03:50 PM EDT, 03/14/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were lower ahead of Thursday's close after official data showed February wholesale costs saw the highest annual increase since September.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were down 0.8% each at 38,716.6 and 5,124.8, respectively. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7% to 16,043.3. Barring energy and communication services, all sectors were in the red, led by real estate.

The US producer price index increased 0.6% last month on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.3% in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Bloomberg-polled consensus estimate called for a 0.3% increase. Annually, unadjusted PPI rose 1.6%, accelerating from the month prior's 1% gain and coming ahead of the 1.2% pace of growth analysts were projecting.

The US 10-year yield jumped 10.2 basis points to 4.29%, while the two-year rate advanced 6.9 basis points to 4.69%.

Adobe (ADBE), Ulta Beauty ( ULTA ) , Smartsheet ( SMAR ) , and Getty Images ( GETY ) are among the companies scheduled to report their latest financial results after the closing bell.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil advanced 1.7% to $81.11 per barrel.