12:29 PM EDT, 10/03/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes traded mixed after Israel's air strikes on central Beirut, Lebanon's capital, escalated geopolitical risk while the United States services sector remained in expansionary territory.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1% to 17,943.1 after midday Thursday. The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1% to 5,705.3. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% to 42,061.2. Technology and energy were among the gainers intraday, while consumer discretionary led the decliners.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil surged 4.5% to $73.23 a barrel.

Tensions in the Middle East intensified on Thursday, with Israel conducting air strikes on Beirut and Hezbollah, a terrorist outfit, reportedly carried out attacks on Israeli forces, according to media outlets. Meanwhile, questions over Israel's response to the Iranian missile barrage are also looming amid the possibility of a retaliatory attack on the country's oil infrastructure.

In economic news, the Institute for Supply Management's US services index rose to 54.9 in September from 51.5 in August, compared with 51.7 expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Meanwhile, the S&P Global US services index was revised downward to 55.2 in September, from the 55.4 flash reading, versus no revision anticipated. The September index was below the 55.7 reported in August but remains in expansionary territory as the reading is above the 50 threshold.

US initial jobless claims rose sequentially to 225,000 in the week ended Sept. 28 from an upwardly revised 219,000, compared with the 221,000 consensus in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Still, the four-week moving average fell by 750 to 224,250, marking a third straight decline and the seventh drop in the last eight weeks.

Most US Treasury yields rose intraday, with the 10-year yield up 4.4 basis points to 3.83%, and the two-year rate climbed 5.6 basis points to 3.69%.

In company news, Guggenheim adjusted Warner Bros. Discovery's ( WBD ) price target to $9 from $12 while maintaining its buy rating. Shares of Warner Bros. were 3.5% lower intraday, among the worst performers on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

RBC Capital Markets raised its price target on Constellation Energy ( CEG ) to $272 from $214 while keeping its sector-perform stock rating. Shares of Constellation were up 4.9% intraday, among the top performers on the S&P 500.