12:39 PM EDT, 04/12/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes and government bond yields fell in midday trading on Friday amid speculation Iran will launch a strike against Israel and as mega-cap bank earnings underwhelmed.

The S&P 500 fell 0.9% to 5,150.5, with the Nasdaq Composite down 1.1% to 16,261.4 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.8% lower at 38,162.9. All sectors, except energy, fell intraday, with technology and consumer discretionary leading the decliners.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil jumped 1.5% to $86.33 a barrel, trading close to its highest since October.

"The main focus to end the week is the start of the fiscal Q1 US bank earnings season and developments in oil markets," Derek Holt, head of capital markets economics at Scotiabank, said in a note. "Oil is up on a report that a strike by Iran against Israel is likely into this weekend."

JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings and revenue even as the banking giant's net interest income fell short of analysts' estimates. The lender raised its full-year expense outlook. Shares slumped 5.4% intraday, among the worst in the S&P 500 and the Dow.

Wells Fargo's ( WFC ) Q1 results topped market estimates even though the lender recorded lower net interest income annually. Shares drifted slightly lower intraday.

Gold surged 1.4% to $2,406.2 per ounce after hitting another record high of $2,448.80 earlier in the session. The rise comes amid concern Iran is ready to retaliate against an Israeli attack on its Syrian embassy this month with missile or drone attacks, sparking worries of a wider Middle East war.

The US 10-year yield fell 6.7 basis points to 4.51%. A 7.9 basis-point decline in the two-year Treasury pushed the yield down to 4.88%.

Meanwhile, in economic news, the University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index fell to 77.9 in April from 79.4 in March, below expectations for a drop to 79 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Respondents saw one-year inflation expectations at 3.1%, up from 2.9% in March, while five-year inflation expectations increased to 3% from 2.8%.