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 | 49609.16 | +12.19 | +0.02% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 7398.93 | +61.82 | +0.84% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 26247.076314 | +440.88 | +1.71% |
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. | 144.57 | -2.01 | -1.37% |
| CVX | CHEVRON CORP. | 181.62 | -0.88 | -0.48% |
| MRO | NO DATA AVAILABLE | - | - | - |
| HAL | HALLIBURTON CO. | 39.83 | +0.71 | +1.81% |
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. | 549.52 | -2.75 | -0.50% |
| LMT | LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP. | 506.51 | -5.90 | -1.15% |
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 | 433.77 | +2.09 | +0.48% |
In other corporate news, Tesla shares rose to a record after reporting that deliveries exceeded expectations.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 428.35 | +16.56 | +4.02% |
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.