US stocks fell on Monday as oil prices and US Treasury yields increased, with investors weighing uncertainty over the prospects for an Iran war peace deal and the impact on the Federal Reserve's rate path. Crude prices had jumped after US President Donald Trump rejected a ⁠peace deal from Iran but pared gains on expectations that Qatari mediators would hold talks with the two countries to find a possible deal. After retreating from highs at the start of the month, oil prices have accelerated higher in recent days as hopes that a peace deal may be on the horizon have diminished. The rising prices of crude and diesel fuel have fanned inflation worries and pushed US Treasury yields higher, along with comments from Fed officials indicating that more rate hikes might be needed if price pressures fail to moderate after the central bank raised interest rates by 25 basis points earlier this month. "Iran is driving oil prices, and oil prices are driving inflation, and inflation is driving interest rates," said Jack Ablin, chief investment strategist and founding partner at Cresset Capital Management in Chicago. "We're getting to a point now where interest ⁠rates are looking pretty attractive relative to equities, which is really the first time in close to 20 years, so ⁠that's something that we're certainly paying attention to." The ⁠Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 347 points, or 0.7 percent, to 51,481, the S&P 500 lost 59 points, or 0.8 percent, to 7,683 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 248 points, or 0.9 percent, to 26,820. The decline for the S&P was its largest daily percentage drop since August 20. Boeing shares tumbled 6.9 percent as one of the biggest drags on the Dow after US Federal Aviation Administration said it will delay certification of Boeing's long-delayed 737 MAX 10 until a newly disclosed software issue is resolved. Bucking ⁠the broader trend was a 1.6 percent gain in Nvidia shares after the chip giant announced a US$150 billion share repurchase authorisation, the biggest-ever company share buyback. Iran announced a peace proposal at last week's United Nations General Assembly in New York, saying it had been relayed to the United States through Qatari mediators. While Trump said on Saturday he had rejected the offer, he told Axios on Sunday that he expected US negotiators to continue talks this week. Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook said on Monday she expects continued inflationary pressure in coming months stemming from AI-related demand and higher oil prices, though she stopped short of saying more interest rate hikes will be needed. Expectations for a rate hike from the Fed at its October meeting have climbed in recent days, in part due to economic data indicating the economy was growing at a solid pace. Markets are currently pricing in a ⁠70.3 percent chance for an increase of at least 25 basis points at the central bank's meeting next month, up from 57.6 percent a week ago and 17.7 percent a month earlier, according to CME FedWatch. (Reuters) Edited by Cecil Wong

Almost half of the stocks in the S&P 500 have a negative beta, evidence of a chasm between the entire index and its individual components.