New Delhi, Sept. 10 -- Wall Street stocks fell sharply on Thursday as the escalating conflict in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices above $107 a barrel, while fresh US producer price data for August fuelled expectations of a possible interest rate hike this month.

As of 12:24 p.m. Eastern Time, the S&P 500 fell 0.5%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.6% lower.

At the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 88.8 points, or 0.17%, to 52291.85. The S&P 500 fell 41.6 points, or 0.55%, to 7594.74​, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 232.3 points, or 0.88%, to 26021.052.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, climbed above $107 a barrel, while US crude futures moved above $100 for t...