NEW YORK, March 21 — Major US stock indices dipped early today as oil prices continued to climb and US Treasury yields rose amid the Russian war on Ukraine.

Comments from Baltic states favouring an embargo on Russian oil and gas helped push crude prices further above US$100 (RM420) a barrel, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned an oil embargo "is a decision that will hit everyone.”

Meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note advanced further above two per cent as markets digest the Federal Reserve’s decision last week to lift interest rates.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell was due to speak later today at a conference of economists. Powell has signaled additional interest rate hikes this year to counter inflation.

About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2 per cent at 34,674.10.

The broad-based S&P 500 was flat at 4,463.11, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.5 per cent to 13,826.71.

Stocks are coming off a strong week, with the S&P 500 piling on more than six per cent amid bargain hunting and positive trading momentum.

Among individual companies, Boeing slumped six per cent after a Boeing 737-800 operated by China Eastern crashed in China, killing 132 people. 

The catastrophe comes as the American plane maker was poised to resume deliveries of the 737 MAX, a different plane, following a lengthy grounding. — AFP