Originally Published: 04 OCT 21 11:40 ET

By Anneken Tappe, CNN Business

(CNN) -- Wall Street is starting the week in the red, with the Dow and other major indexes sharply lower.

The Dow dropped more than 350 points, or 1.1%, in the late morning. The S&P 500, a broader gauge of the US stock market, was down 1.4%. The Nasdaq Composite fell the most with a 2.1% decline.

Tech stocks are leading losses.

There are plenty of headwinds for America's equity investors. Top of mind is the debt ceiling fight in Washington, as President Joe Biden is expected to speak on the home-grown debt crisis later this morning. He continues to push Congress to raise the debt ceiling; Congress has until October 18 to increase the country's borrowing limit.

On top of that, worries about prolonged high inflation are leading investors to rotate out of tech stocks, which had performed strongly during the worst of the pandemic. A key measure of inflation hit a new 30-year high on Friday.

While stocks are tumbling, US Treasury yields — which track inflation and interest rate expectations — are ticking higher at 1.48%. Bond yields and prices move inversely to each other.

Energy in focus

Energy stocks were the only bright spot in the market Monday. Oil prices rallied to their highest level since 2014 and lifted the sector higher.

US oil prices are up nearly 3% around $78 per barrel after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies reaffirmed their existing production plan.

"In the longer-term outlook, the rising price of crude oil is only going to exacerbate inflationary pressures, specially for some emerging market economies like India," said ThinkMarkets analyst Fawad Razaqzada in a note to clients.