Update: US Equity Indexes Fall While Benchmark Treasury Yield Jumps With Crude Oil as Iran Hostilities Resume
(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data, and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes declined as investors weighed renewed Washington-Tehran military escalation amid higher crude oil prices and a march up in the 10-year government bond yield to the highest in about a month.The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.4% to 26,309.5, the S&P 500 retreated 0.4% to 7,677.6, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.7% to 53,208.3 after midday Monday. All sectors, except energy, declined. Communication services led decliners, followed by utilities, industrials, and real estate.Iran and the US traded attacks for the first time in over a month overnight into Monday, CNN reported. Iran said it attacked US bases in Jordan and US military targets at the Al Minhad airbase in the United Arab Emirates after US forces bombed two rocket launchers on Iran's Larak Island, according to a report from Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster.The US military struck the two launchers that a US official said were attempting to deploy mines into the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported. The United Arab Emirates condemned the Iranian drone attack on Monday as a "dangerous escalation" and a flagrant violation of its sovereignty, the news report said.President Donald Trump said the US will respond to an Iranian attack on US forces overnight in Jordan, Fox News reported. US air defenses intercepted all but one Iranian missile, which was allowed through because it was not expected to hit anything of consequence, the report said, citing the president.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract advanced 2.7% to $85.62 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent climbed 4.8% to $90.32 per barrel.In economic news, the Dallas Fed's monthly manufacturing index jumped to 11.6 in August from 1.3 in July, above expectations for 1.6 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg, indicating a faster pace of expansion.Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's speech Friday was "particularly hawkish, emphasizing that the Fed's 2% inflation target remains the objective but recently, there has been no meaningful movement toward that mark," according to a note from Capital Wealth Planning. Inflation is still above the Fed's target, and Warsh believes that short-term interest rates are the central bank's primary tool to reel it in.The next Fed policy meeting will be in mid-September, with an inflation reading for August to be released beforehand, per the note. Citing the CME's FedWatch tool, the futures market is pricing in one or two rate hikes by the year-end, potentially one in September followed by another in December.US Treasury yields were mixed after midday. The 10-year yield climbed 3.4 basis points to 4.76%, while the two-year was steady at 4.35%. The 30-year yield jumped 4.5 basis points to 5.25%.In company news, Aon (AON) said it has agreed to acquire insurance brokerage USI Insurance Services from KKR (KKR) and other shareholders in an all-cash deal worth roughly $17 billion, as the professional services firm aims to strengthen its presence in the US middle-market insurance segment. Aon shares were down 8%.Eli Lilly (LLY) has agreed to acquire Merida Biosciences for up to $2.875 billion in cash, as it seeks to expand its portfolio of autoimmune and allergic disease therapies, the companies said Monday. Eli Lilly shares were down 1.5%.Tesla (TSLA) is selling a simplified version of Model 3 at a lower price in Hong Kong and Macau than in mainland China, according to media reports and the company's regional websites. Shares jumped 5.2%, the top gainer on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.Shares of PG&E (PCG) and Edison International (EIX) were among the decliners, down 18% and 24%, respectively, after the state of California amended legislation to protect wildfire survivors' right to sue utilities for equipment-caused blazes, ABC7 reported Sunday.
