US equity indexes declined, led by the Nasdaq Composite, amid a jump in volatility and gains in government bond yields in midday trading on Wednesday.

The Nasdaq dropped 1.1% to 22,863.2, with the S&P 500 down 0.7% to 6,751.9 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.2% lower at 48,037.1.

Technology, communication services, and industrials led the decliners, while energy emerged as the top gainer.

Broadcom (AVGO) and Oracle (ORCL) are among the worst three decliners intraday in a category of stocks with a market capitalization of more than $200 billion, according to data compiled by Finviz, reflecting continuing investor apathy towards the tech behemoths following their quarterly results. Blue Owl Capital (OWL) will not back a $10 billion deal for Oracle's next data center facility, the Financial Times reported, citing three people familiar with the matter.

The CBOE Volatility Index surged 5% to 17.29, hovering around its highest for this month.

In economic news, mortgage applications fell 3.8% in the week ended Dec. 12 as average 30-year mortgage rates rose, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday. This follows a 4.8% jump in overall activity in the week ended Dec. 5.

Most US Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year yield up one basis point to 4.16% and the two-year yield 2.1 basis points higher at 3.5%.