US Equity Indexes Mixed While Treasury Yields Surge as Joint Attack Against Iran Continues

01:55 PM EST, 03/02/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes traded mixed in midday trading on Monday, while government bond yields jumped as the US and Israel continued their hostilities against Iran.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2% to 22,721.7, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.2% to 48,880.9. The S&P 500 was little changed at 6,874.56. Energy, technology, and industrials were the only gainers. Health care and consumer staples were among the decliners.

President Donald Trump told CNN the "big wave" is yet to come in the war with Iran. Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called on Iranians to "take advantage" of the opportunity for regime change, even as he said the war was not about ousting the government in Tehran.

"First, we're destroying Iran's missile capabilities - and you see that happening on an hourly basis - and their capacity to produce brand-new ones, and pretty good ones they make," Trump was cited as saying. "Second, we're annihilating their navy. We've knocked out already 10 ships. They're at the bottom of the sea."

In energy markets, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures jumped 5.6% to $70.89 a barrel, off session highs.

US Treasury yields rose, with the two-year up 11.5 basis points to 3.49%. The 10-year yield jumped 9.2 basis points to 4.05%.

In precious metals, gold futures rose 1.1% to $5,307.60per troy ounce, while silver futures slumped 5.1% to $88.58 per troy ounce.

The ICE US Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of the world's major currencies, was up 1% to 98.56.

In economic news, the Institute for Supply Management's US manufacturing index declined to 52.4 in February from 52.6 in January, versus expectations for 51.5 in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.

The S&P Global US manufacturing index for February was revised slightly higher to 51.6 from the flash reading of 51.2, compared with expectations for a smaller upward revision to 51.4 in a Bloomberg survey. The February index remains below the 52.4 reading in January.

In company news, BlackRock's (BLK) Global Infrastructure Partners and EQT Infrastructure VI fund are leading a consortium that has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire AES (AES) for $15 per share in cash, or an equity value of $10.7 billion and an enterprise value of about $33.4 billion including the assumption of existing debt, the companies said Monday.

Shares of AES (AES) slumped 17%, the worst performer on the S&P 500.

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