Dow Falters as North Korea Tensions Flare

All three major equity indexes remain on pace for weekly wins, however

Josh Selway

May 24, 2018 at 4:24 PM

The Dow was down more than 280 points at its session lows, as President Donald Trump's decision to call off a June 12 summit with North Korea by way of a letter to Kim Jong Un rocked the markets. On top of that, investors digested threats of new tariffs on auto imports from the Trump administration. However, stocks managed to pare most of their losses by day's end, thanks in part to sharp gains out of the retail sector.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 24,811.76) settled down 75.1 points, or 0.3%, with only eight of the 30 Dow components closing higher. The biggest winner was General Electric (GE), which rose 3%, and Exxon Mobil (XOM) paced the losers, sliding 2.3%.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 2,727.76) dipped 5.5 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 7,424.43) flirted with positive territory, but closed down 1.5 points, or 0.02%.

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 12.53) dipped 0.05 point, or 0.4%, as the 20-day moving average again capped the "fear gauge's" upside.

Closing Indexes May 24

NYSE and Nasdaq May 24

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Corporate Earnings Chart May 24

Unusual Options Volume May 24

Data courtesy of Trade-Alert

Gold Rises on North Korea Fears

Oil prices fell today amid growing speculation that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will begin to ease output limitations. July-dated crude futures finished down $1.13, or 1.6%, at $70.71 per barrel.

Today's geopolitical tensions provided a lift for gold prices, though. June gold futures added $14.80, or 1.2%, to end at $1,304.40 per ounce.

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