(Updates with index/price moves and geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)
US equity indexes slipped with government bond yields while crude oil extended gains as investors weighed geopolitical developments in the Middle East.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.5% to 26,476, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% to 7,738.5 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.1% lower at 53,907.9.
US and Iran are "close to some sort of arrangement" over the Strait of Hormuz, Pakistan's defense minister was cited as saying in a Bloomberg report. Majed al-Ansari, Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesman, said negotiations between Oman and Iran on the future of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz have reached an advanced stage, Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster, reported.
Meanwhile, a Saudi-owned commercial vessel was reportedly struck by a missile while transiting the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea, shipping sources and Yemeni officials told marine intelligence group Marisks, according to CNN. An incident involving a container ship and an unknown military force in the Gulf of Oman has been reported by the UK Maritime Trade Operations, CNN reported.
The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract climbed 1.2% to $83.11 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent advanced 1% to $88.62 per barrel, extending gains this week.
US Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year yield down 1.4 basis points to 4.68% and the two-year lower by 1.5 basis points to 4.22%, giving up all intraday gains.
Gold futures rose 0.4% to $4,438.60, while silver futures slipped 0.2% to $65.13.