US close: Stocks sag amid Syria concerns, confident Fed
Wall Street's main equity market indices finished moderately lower amid caution ahead of the release of the latest Federal Reserve minutes and after a slightly worse-than-expected print on US inflation data for March, as geopolitical tensions weighed on sentiment.
At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.90% or 281.55 points lower to 24,189.45, with the S&P 500 down by 0.55% or 14.68 points at 2,642.19, while the Nasdaq Composite was 0.36% or 25.27 points lower to 7,069.03.
From a sector standpoint, the worst performance was seen in the following industry groups: Home construction (-2.17%), Airlines (-2.16%) and Iron&Steel (-2.04%).
In parallel, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was down by two basis points at 2.78%.
May 2018 WTI crude oil futures rise 1.90% to $66.78 a barrel on NYMEX.
The mood was dominated by concerns about a possible US military strike in Syria, for which Trump and his administration were working hard to gain international support.
London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler said: "Syria has distinct risks. Military intervention in Syria that puts the US in direct confrontation with Russia can only be a bad thing for market sentiment."
Earlier in the session, Moscow's ambassador to Lebannon had warned Russia would aim to shoot down any missiles that might endanger its personnel and that it would respond by targeting their launch sites.
That came as President Trump weighed in with one of his characteristically subtle tweets: "Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and 'smart!' You shouldn't be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!"
In terms of data, America's consumer price index dipped by 0.1% month-on-month in March, weighed down by declines in energy and used car prices.
However, in comparison to a year ago CPI picked up from a 2.2% clip for February to 2.4% in March (consensus: 2.3%).
Late in the session, the minutes of the Federal Reserve's last rate-setting meeting on 20-21 March showed US central bankers were more confident on the economic outlook when they last met to decide on policy, with several of the belief that at some point in about two years' time rates would need to rise above their normal longer-run value.
On the corporate front, shares of Facebook eked out a gain of 0.78% as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg testified for a second day before US lawmakers and 21st Century Fox lost 0.25% after its UK offices were raided by officials from the European Commission investigating a potential abuse of its position in the broadcasting of major sports events.
Dow Jones - Risers
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $77.42 3.42%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $47.58 1.41%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $163.34 1.31%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $35.78 0.93%
Visa Inc. (V) $119.78 0.83%
3M Co. (MMM) $214.35 0.71%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $43.99 0.37%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $119.25 0.34%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $110.62 0.20%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $122.44 0.18%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Boeing Co. (BA) $327.36 -2.23%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $64.73 -1.76%
American Express Co. (AXP) $91.60 -1.51%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $252.94 -1.41%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $91.86 -1.10%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $146.79 -0.88%
General Electric Co. (GE) $12.98 -0.61%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $100.80 -0.56%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $66.83 -0.52%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $172.44 -0.47%
S&P 500 - Risers
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $11.18 12.93%
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $26.62 8.88%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $39.43 8.77%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $18.31 7.71%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $14.99 7.61%
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) $181.78 7.34%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $17.52 7.16%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $14.41 6.58%
Murphy Oil Corp. (MUR) $28.66 6.35%
Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) $31.43 5.75%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $51.05 -6.19%
United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL) $64.87 -5.33%
W.W. Grainger Inc. (GWW) $279.17 -4.39%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $45.40 -4.34%
Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $58.19 -4.26%
Legg Mason Inc. (LM) $38.28 -3.31%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $22.95 -3.24%
Affiliated Mgrs Group (AMG) $170.83 -3.10%
TEGNA Inc (TGNA) $10.57 -3.03%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $40.39 -2.72%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $303.67 1.88%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $132.03 1.69%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $113.09 1.49%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $87.33 1.44%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $26.83 1.44%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $90.80 0.86%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $166.32 0.78%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $83.16 0.64%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $39.83 0.61%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $184.65 0.60%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $51.05 -6.19%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $328.70 -5.50%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $45.40 -4.34%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $213.30 -3.51%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $40.39 -2.72%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $66.29 -2.69%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $30.41 -2.56%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $110.79 -2.35%
Qurate Retail Group Inc QVC Group (QRTEA) $24.98 -2.27%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $31.38 -1.97%