The DJIA shook off early Syria-related headwinds, but slipped back into the red by the close
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) struggled to find its footing this morning, as stocks reacted to a mixed jobs report and an overnight U.S. military attack on an airfield in Syria. While safe-haven assets like gold caught a lift in early trading, the Dow edged into positive territory around lunchtime with some help from Wal-Mart stock. But with traders continuing to keep an eye trained on the conclusion of President Donald Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Dow couldn't avoid a weekly loss, as a late-session burst of selling pressure sent the blue-chip barometer into the red.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA - 20,656.10) explored a 119-point range, before settling down 6.9 points, or 0.03%. DuPont's 0.7% loss paced the 22 Dow decliners, while WMT stock's 2.1% gain led the seven advancers. Intel was unchanged. For the week, the DJIA shed 0.03%.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 2,355.54) bounced squarely off 2,350, before settling with a 2-point, or 0.08%, loss. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 5,877.81) closed down 1.1 points, or 0.02%. Week-over-week, the SPX fell 0.3%, while the COMP surrendered 0.6%.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX - 12.87) traded as high as 13.43, but eventually pared its gain to 0.5 point, or 3.9%. On a weekly basis, the market's "fear gauge" jumped 4%.
5 Items on Our Radar Today
- In what is being reported as an act of terrorism, a truck plowed into a crowd of people in Stockholm, Sweden, earlier, killing at least four and wounding more than a dozen others. While one person has been detained, police are searching for others who may be involved. (NBC News)
- New York Fed President William Dudley took a middle-of-the-road stance on "too big to fail," following differing stances from Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. Specifically, Dudley noted that while significant progress has been made to improve the risk of large banks, there's still work to be done. (MarketWatch)
- Baird hit Aecom with a double-barreled blow, sending the infrastructure stock to its lowest level since November.
- Twilio stock surged, after J.P. Morgan Securities waxed optimistic over the cloud company's partnership with Amazon.
- Geopolitical uncertainty sparked heavy options volume on these 3 gold ETFs.
Data courtesy of Trade-Alert
Commodities
Geopolitical tensions buoyed oil prices -- and overshadowed a 12th straight weekly rise in domestic rig counts -- with May-dated crude settling up 54 cents, or 1%, at $52.24 per barrel, its highest close since March 7. On the week, oil jumped 3.2%.
Gold enjoyed its safe-haven status, with gold futures for June delivery closing up $4, or 0.3%, at $1,257.30 an ounce. Week-over-week, the malleable metal added 0.5%.