Update: US Equity Indexes Fall as Crude Oil Jumps Amid Divergent Manufacturing, Labor Market Reports

12:29 PM EDT, 10/01/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.) US equity indexes declined as crude oil jumped and investors parsed falling government bond yields after Thursday's mixed manufacturing and labor market data. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.4% to 26,767.2, the S&P 500 edged 0.3% lower to 7,630.5, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.5% to 50,663.8 after midday Thursday. Energy led gains across four sectors, while the rest declined, with materials leading the pack lower. By the end of November, which is after the US mid-term elections, three aircraft carriers and two landing groups will be deployed around Iran, a US official told Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster. Iran is preparing a broader and more forceful response if the US resumes large-scale military attacks, unnamed sources told Reuters, while continuing a diplomatic push that Iranian officials privately see as unlikely to succeed. The planning reflects a conviction within Iran's leadership that any renewed US campaign must be met with a stronger response than before, even as Tehran seeks to avert escalation through talks, the news report said. The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract climbed 2.3% to $92.53 per barrel, and the global benchmark North Sea Brent advanced 3.5% to $101.41 per barrel. The Institute for Supply Management's US manufacturing index fell to 54.5 in September from 54.6 in August, compared with expectations for an increase to 55.0 in a Bloomberg-compiled survey. The S&P Global US manufacturing index for September was revised to 55.9 from a flash reading of 57.0, compared with expectations for no revision in a Bloomberg-compiled poll. Employers in the US announced 43,281 layoffs in September, down 18% from the month prior and 20% year over year, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Initial jobless claims fell sequentially to 197,000 in the week ended Sept. 26 from an upwardly revised 198,000 in the previous week, according to the US Labor Department. US Treasury yields dropped across the curve. The two-year yield slumped 9.8 basis points to 4.79%. The 10-year yield dropped 4.6 basis points to 5.25%, after hitting its highest level since 2002 earlier in the session. Micron Technology (MU) reported a year-over-year jump in fiscal Q4 adjusted earnings and revenue, and set out fiscal Q1 guidance above consensus estimates late Wednesday. Still, shares declined 1.9% intraday.