Stocks slide after Iranain top military leader killed by US
Stocks curbed heavy losses but end session lower.
The specter of a potential armed conflict with Iran loomed over the stock market Friday which closed with triple-digit losses but off the worst levels of the session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, trimmed a loss of over 300 points, to finish the session at 235.07 or 0.8 percent. The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 slipped around 0.7 percent.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 47850.94 | -31.96 | -0.07% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 6857.12 | +7.40 | +0.11% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 23505.1358 | +51.04 | +0.22% |
Oil, traditionally the most volatile commodity in times of Mideast tensions, saw upticks most of Friday. West Texas Intermediate crude closed up 3.1 percent at $63.05 a barrel. The global benchmark, March Brent crude saw similar gains with a rise of 3.6 percent and a close at $68.60 per barrel.
Energy stocks, which opened higher as a group, ended the session mixed.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XOM | EXXON MOBIL CORP. | 117.14 | -0.66 | -0.56% |
| CVX | CHEVRON CORP. | 152.26 | +0.67 | +0.44% |
| MRO | NO DATA AVAILABLE | - | - | - |
| HAL | HALLIBURTON CO. | 27.84 | +0.43 | +1.57% |
It was not all bleak on the exchanges as shares of defense contractors Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin were up more than 5 percent and 4 percent respectively after the team at Citigroup noted that rising tensions in the region could validate the need for a bigger defense budget.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOC | NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP. | 553.30 | -0.12 | -0.02% |
| LMT | LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP. | 448.38 | +1.68 | +0.38% |
As has happened in the past, investors made a flight to safety amidst rising tension, abandoning anything seen as a risky asset for long-standing safe havens, such as gold and U.S. Treasuries. The yield on the 10-Year slipped to 1.792 percent.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLD | SPDR GOLD SHARES TRUST - USD ACC | 387.13 | +0.25 | +0.06% |
In other corporate news, Tesla shares rose to a record after reporting that deliveries exceeded expectations.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 454.53 | +7.79 | +1.74% |
While concern about the Mideast remained paramount, other factors were at play for the market downturn. Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s December meeting were released. While the minutes revealed a sense of optimism regarding the economy and ease in U.S.-China trade tensions, but there were also concerns about slow growth.
To that end, Friday also saw worse-than-expected U.S. manufacturing data. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 47.2 percent, its lowest number in more than 10 years.