04:48 PM EDT, 03/24/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes fell on Tuesday as oil prices continued to rise amid uncertainty surrounding truce talks between the US and Iran.

The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.8% to 21,761.8, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.3% to 6,556.3, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% to 46,124. Energy, materials, and the utilities sector led the gainers, while the technology sector led the decliners.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures jumped 4.2% to $91.86.

CNN reported Tuesday, citing an unnamed Israeli official, that a deal to end the Iran war "does not appear to be tangible right now," as another wave of strikes was carried out across Iran while Tehran launched attacks on Tel Aviv.

The state of negotiations remains unclear, with Iran disputing Trump's assertion that the US and Tehran held discussions over the weekend. Other countries are pushing for a diplomatic strategy, with Pakistan offering to host talks involving Iran, Israel and the US, according to CNN.

"All this underscores the essential fact that we are not dealing with single decision-maker dynamics," Helima Croft, head of global commodity strategy and MENA Research at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note. "Unlike the case with tariffs or Greenland, multiple stakeholders have a say in how this war ends, and ships, not soundbites, will likely be what ultimately matters for physical markets."

"Iran appears to be playing a long game, leveraging regional instability and its asymmetric warfare to impose economic and security costs on its adversaries," Deutsche Bank's Helen Belopolsky said in a note. "This strategy likely means that the Strait of Hormuz will be a contested and volatile chokepoint for some time to come."

Most US Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year up 2.2 basis points to 4.356% and the two-year higher by 3.6 basis points to 3.867%.

In precious metals, gold futures fell 0.1% to $4,400 and silver futures rose 0.4% to $69.635.

In US economic news, Redbook same-store sales were up by 6.7% from a year earlier for the week ended March 21 after a 6.4% year-over-year increase in the previous week.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank's monthly non-manufacturing activity index fell to minus 23.9 in March from minus 17.3 in the month earlier, compared with expectations for an increase to a minus 15.7, in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

In company news, CVD Equipment ( CVV ) said Tuesday it will sell its Stainless Design Concepts unit to Atlas Copco for about $16.9 million in cash. Shares rose roughly 37.5%.

Sol-Gel Technologies ( SLGL ) shares rose 17.2%, a day after the firm priced an oversubscribed underwritten offering of 459,112 shares at $72.00 a share.

ImmunityBio ( IBRX ) shares fell 21.1% after the US Food and Drug Administration issued a warning letter citing "misleading" promotional materials for its bladder cancer drug Anktiva.