05:48 PM EDT, 03/19/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes fell on Thursday, although all three gauges were off session lows, while government bond yields were mixed after President Donald Trump voiced support for Qatar, helping push oil prices lower.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3% to 22,090.7, with the S&P 500 down 0.3% to 6,606.49 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower by 0.4% to 46,021.43.

Most US sectors were in the red, with materials, consumer discretionary, and consumer staples leading the decliners.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were down 0.2% to $96.14, after touching $101.48 intraday.

QatarEnergy Chief Executive Saad al-Kaabi said attacks by Iran have wiped out 17% of Qatar's LNG capacity, resulting in $20 billion in lost revenue, Reuters reported Thursday, citing an interview with the CEO.

"NO MORE ATTACKS WILL BE MADE BY ISRAEL pertaining to this extremely important and valuable South Pars Field unless Iran unwisely decides to attack a very innocent, in this case, Qatar - in which instance the United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength or power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

US stock indices recovered following a social media statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that said the war with Iran would end "a lot faster than people think," according to media reports.

Meanwhile, oil prices also fell after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that the US may lift sanctions on Iranian oil currently at sea, aiming to reduce price pressures, according to a Bloomberg report. Bessent reportedly said on Fox Business that about 140 million barrels are currently afloat, adding, "that's 10 days to two weeks of supply," which could quickly ease tight conditions in global energy markets.

US Treasury yields were mixed, with the two-year up 5.2 basis points to 3.80% and the 10-year down less than 1 basis point to 4.25%.

In precious metals, gold futures dropped 5.9% to $4,605.70 per troy ounce, and silver futures declined 8.2% to $71.22 per troy ounce.

In economic news, initial jobless claims stood at 205,000 in the week ending March 14, down from 213,000 a week earlier and below the 215,000 estimated by analysts polled by Bloomberg.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta now expects Q1 real gross domestic product growth of 2.3%, down from a 2.7% forecast on March 13.

The Conference Board US Leading Index fell by 0.1% in January, as expected in a Bloomberg-complied survey and following a 0.2% decrease in December.

In company news, Boeing ( BA ) faces a reduced role in NASA's moon-landing mission as the agency considers giving SpaceX's Starship a larger part in sending astronauts toward lunar orbit, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Shares of the aircraft manufacturer dropped 2.3%, the Dow's worst performer.