New Delhi, March 19 -- Major US equity benchmarks declined on Thursday as crude prices advanced on intensifying Middle East conflict.

The surging energy costs have revived inflation worries that have prompted the US Federal Reserve to take a cautious stance on interest rate cuts.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 90.3 points, or 0.20%, to 46,134.87. The S&P 500 fell 41.6 points, or 0.63%, to 6,583.12​, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 281.4 points, or 1.27%, to 21,871.037.

The small-caps Russell 2000 index tumbled 10% from its all-time intraday high.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from MINT....