US equity markets declined as a major escalation of the conflict in the Middle East and the spectre of a large labour strike at ports on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast weighed on investor sentiment - Dow fell -173-points or 0.41%, snapping a three session winning streak that had lifted the 30-stock index to record highs. Intel Corp (down -3.28%) was the worst performing Dow component overnight, while Microsoft Corp (-2.23%) and Walt Disney Co (-2.22%) both fell over >2%. Boeing Co rose +1.43% following a Bloomberg report that the aerospace and defence giant is working with advisers to explore its options to bolster cash reserves depleted by a machinists strike, including issuing at least US$10B in new shares. Chevron Corp (up +1.65%) was the leading Dow component, tracking the latest rise in crude prices