Update: US Equity Indexes Mixed as Technology Declines in Final Leg of Trading
(Updates with index/price moves and geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes traded mixed ahead of Friday's close, as technology led decliners on sector charts while crude oil fell with government bond yields.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to 51,877.1, while the S&P 500 was little changed at 7,405.4 and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.6% to 24,983.7. Real estate, materials, and communication services topped the gainers.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to 51,877.1, and the S&P 500 was little changed at 7,405.4. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.6% to 24,983.7. Real estate, materials, and communication services topped the gainers.Pakistan is exploring a path toward a resumption of stalled talks between the US and Iran over ending the war, following a push initiated by China, Reuters reported, citing sources, on Friday.Exploratory discussions took place during a visit by Iran's Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni to Islamabad this week -- his second within the last 10 days, three Pakistani sources told the news agency. All three sources cautioned that obstacles to any talks with the US remained high, per the news report.Despite threats from the Iran-aligned Houthis, tracking data showed two oil tankers sailing through the Gulf of Aden on Friday, CNN reported. The Houthi attacks on two Saudi Arabian tankers in the Red Sea chokepoint on Thursday forced several other tankers to turn around and head north through the Suez Canal, potentially using a much longer route to reach Asia by sailing around Africa, Reuters reported.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate dropped 3.3% to $89.14 a barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent slumped 4.1% to $96.51 a barrel, retreating from a surge this week amid the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea targeting Saudi crude oil exports.The latest jump in oil prices is likely to be short-lived, a Dow Jones news report cited a Julius Baer note, referring to Brent crude surpassing the $100 mark Thursday for the first time since the US-Iran ceasefire agreement in June. Despite fresh attacks on tankers in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, the renewed fighting appears to reflect efforts by the parties to strengthen their bargaining positions ahead of another round of negotiations, the news report cited the note.Most US Treasury yields fell in the final leg of trading on Friday as a decline in crude oil helped keep a lid on inflation worries. The 10-year declined two basis points to 4.68%, retreating from its highest seen in a year on Thursday. The two-year dropped 2.7 basis points to 4.33%, after yields hit fresh 52-week highs twice this week.