01:39 PM EDT, 06/13/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes fell midday Friday after Israel's strikes against Iran sent crude oil and gold futures as well as government bond yields sharply higher, reflecting a risk-off mood among investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.4% to 42,363.9, the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.7% to 19,527.1, and the S&P 500 was 0.7% lower at 6,002.7. Among sectors, energy was among a couple of gainers, while financials and real estate were the steepest decliners.

Israel launched air strikes on Iran using 200 fighter jets, targeting its nuclear program and military leaders. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said the attack would last many days, while Iran retaliated with 100 drones targeting Israel.

"The Zionist regime's acts of aggression against Iran could not have been carried out without the coordination and approval of the United States," Iran's foreign affairs ministry said in a statement on its website. "Consequently, the US government, as the primary patron of this regime, will also bear responsibility for the dangerous repercussions of the Zionist regime's reckless actions."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that the US was not involved in the operation. "We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region," according to Rubio.

President Donald Trump said in a social media post that the strikes came after his deadline for Iran to reach a deal to limit its nuclear ambitions had just expired. "I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest of words, to 'just do it,' but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn't get it done," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures surged 6.8% to $72.65 a barrel. Intraday, oil touched $78.46, the highest since January, according to a note from Stifel.

Most US Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year up 7.7 basis points to 4.43% and the two-year rate 6.2 basis points higher at 3.97%.

Gold futures surged 1.5% to $3,451.6 per ounce.

Meanwhile, in economic news, the University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index rose to 60.5 in June from 52.2 in May, compared with expectations for an increase to 53.6 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Respondents saw one-year inflation expectations at 5.1%, well below the 6.6% rate in May, while five-year inflation expectations fell to 4.1% from 4.2%. While down, the rates are still above where they were in late 2024.