Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 119 points
The Dow slid 119.70 points, or 0.42% to end the day at 28,583.68. The S&P 500 pulled back 0.28% to 3,237.18. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.03% to 9,068.58. Stocks struggled to find direction for most of the session as investors evaluated the possible risks from the lingering U.S.-Iran tensions.
Wall Street assess US-Iran risk
Investors seemingly refused to take any significant positions in the market based on the U.S.-Iran tensions as they sought out more clarity on the situation. But for the time being, strategists remained optimistic that this risk will be transitory. Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge notes Iran is a risk to the market “but not immediately fatal to the present equity narrative.” Barring any major escalation, the market could start putting Iran behind it if this week’s employment numbers are strong.
Bank of America and JP Morgan slide
Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase were both downgraded by an analyst at UBS, sending their shares down by 0.66% and 1.70%, respectively. The analyst said investors should wait for a better entry point before buying into Bank of America. As for J.P. Morgan, the analyst noted “the bar has been raised for further outperformance.”
What happens next?
ADP and Moody’s Analytics are set to release their latest private payrolls data on Wednesday. Investors will also pore through earnings from Bed Bath & Beyond, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Lennar. Read more here.
Stocks struggled to find direction for most of the session as investors evaluated the possible risks from lingering U.S.-Iran tensions.