U.S. stocks fell Wednesday as investors digested corporate earnings amid rising Treasury yields and political uncertainty.

At 09:35 ET (13:35 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 235 points, or 0.6%, the S&P 500 index fell 17 points, or 0.3%, and the NASDAQ Composite fell 88 points, or 0.5%. 

Wall Street indexes have fallen from record highs this week, weighed by an increase in Treasury yields--the 10-year rate surged to a near three-month high on Tuesday--uncertainty over the presidential election, as well as increasing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. 

Tesla Q3 earnings on tap

The quarterly earnings season has clicked into full gear, with about a fifth of the S&P 500 reporting this week.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) - the world’s most valuable automaker - will report its third-quarter earnings after the close, the largest U.S. firm to report earnings this week.

Tesla’s earnings come after the EV maker’s third-quarter deliveries missed expectations, while the long-awaited reveal of its robotaxi largely underwhelmed. 

Beyond Tesla, AT&T (NYSE:T) stock fell 1% after the telecoms giant reported a $4.4 billion goodwill impairment charge related to its business-wireline unit, which has overshadowed the company gaining more wireless subscribers than expected in the third quarter, driven by the steady adoption of its higher-tier unlimited plans.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) stock fell 3.7% after the soft drinks giant reported sluggish demand, even as higher prices meant that quarterly earnings beat expectations.

Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) stock rose 3% after the chipmaker reported third-quarter income that topped expectations, helped by "momentum" for electric vehicles in China.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) stock fell 2.2% after the coffee chain reported preliminary results for its fourth quarter, posting declines in same-store sales, net revenue, and profit, driven by weaker demand in the US.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) stock fell over 7% after the Center for Disease Control issued an alert over an E. coli outbreak linked to the fast food chain’s burgers. The outbreak caused 10 hospitalizations and one death across 10 states, the CDC said.

Fed's Bowman set to speak

The economic data calendar is relatively quiet Wednesday, with existing home sales for September the main release. 

FOMC member Michelle Bowman is also scheduled to speak, and her views on future monetary policy given the shifting expectations of the Federal Reserve being less aggressive in its easing over the next few months.

Focus is turning towards the U.S. presidential election, with investors also increasingly positioning ahead of the Nov. 5 polling day. 

Markets seem to becoming more confident that Republican candidate Donald Trump will beat Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, but a new Reuters/Ipsos poll was published showing Harris with a marginal 46% to 43% lead over Trump.

This suggests a tight outcome, and markets could well be volatile in the run up to the polling day.

Crude slips on inventories increase

Oil prices slipped following the release of industry data pointing to a rise in US crude inventories.

By 09:35 ET, the Brent contract dropped 1.2% to $75.15 per barrel, while U.S. crude futures (WTI) traded 1.2% lower at $70.91 a barrel.

Data from the American Petroleum Institute, released Tuesday, showed that U.S. oil inventories grew 1.643 million barrels in the past week, spurring concerns that US fuel demand was cooling.

Official US government oil inventory data, from the Energy Information Administration, are due later on Wednesday.