03:45 PM EDT, 03/11/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were struggling for direction ahead of Monday's close as investors awaited official consumer inflation data for February, scheduled to be released Tuesday.

The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.4% at 16,023.9, while the S&P 500 slid 0.2% to 5,116.3. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to 38,762.4. Among sectors, industrials and real estate saw the steepest declines. Materials paced the gainers.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics are likely to show Tuesday that the US consumer price index rose 0.4% sequentially and 3.1% annually last month, according to a Bloomberg-compiled consensus. Core inflation, which excludes the volatile food and energy components, is seen growing 0.3% on a monthly basis and 3.7% annually.

The US two-year yield rose 4.4 basis points to 4.53%, while the 10-year rate gained one basis point to 4.09%.

Oracle (ORCL), Casey's General Stores (CASY) and Vail Resorts ( MTN ) are among the companies scheduled to report their latest financial results after the closing bell.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil increased 0.2% to $78.16 per barrel.