When missiles began flying over Israel, US stockpiles plummeted.
As oil prices rose, technology stocks plunged as investors tried to assess whether Iran's bombing of Israel meant an all-out war was breaking out in the Middle East.
And that was just the beginning of a very bad day.
Related: ILA port strike poses major threat to auto supply chain
A port strike broke out at ports from Houston to Portland, Maine. That could lead to higher prices for fruits and vegetables. Most bananas consumed by Americans arrive in the United States through the port of Wilmington in Delaware.
It could alter the arrival of Christmas toys in stores, although companies like Walmart (WMT) and costco (COST) had been bringing in foreign-made products earlier than usual.
A prolonged strike could affect the November elections.
It was actually not what market expectations were expecting after the third quarter ended on Monday and the fourth quarter began. And there was no clear answer to many of the questions raised by the missiles and the attack on New York's business end.
The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 0.9%. Its variation so far this year fell from 20.81% on Monday to 19.7% on Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrials lost 173 points, or 0.4%, to 42,157 after falling 385 points shortly after the open, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 279 points, or 1.5%, to 17,910.
Interest rates went down. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 3.737 on Tuesday from 3.787% on Monday. Daily Mortgage News mortgage rate estimate fell to 6.2% from 6.24% on Monday.
stocks may come under pressure again
stocks are also likely to decline again on Wednesday.
Futures trading sends the Dow Jones down more than 100 points at the open. The S&P 500 showed a drop of 10 points before the open. The Nasdaq-100 index was pointing to a loss of 26 points on top of its own loss of 287 points on Tuesday.
Crude oil was rising again, but gasoline prices were at least holding steady, with the national average gas price at $3.20 per gallon and many states seeing prices below $3 per gallon.
The only saving grace is that there are few major economic reports coming out on Wednesday, and only notable earnings reports: Conagra (CAG) the large food company, and Levi Strauss & Co. (Levi) famous for its denim items.
But things get more exciting Thursday when the Labor Department's weekly report on unemployment claims comes out. And Friday's jobs report, due out at 8:30 a.m. ET, is the most important economic report of the month.
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Middle East: always on investors' minds
If you ask money and investment managers what their worst fears are, the turmoil in the Middle East is always cited. Ed Yardeni wrote Tuesday morning that “a widening war in the Middle East has been our number one risk scenario over the past year for the equity bull market.”
For good reason. Disruptions in oil supplies mean economic disruptions around the world. The only winners, really, are the oil-producing countries that are not at war with Israel and the oil companies.
Chevron (CLC) It added 1.7% to $149.70 on Tuesday. Exxon Mobile (XOM) jumped 2.% to $119.93.
You would think that Tesla (TSLA) which does not manufacture gasoline-powered vehicles. I would be up. You would be wrong. Shares fell 1.4% to $258.02. general motors (GM) rose 4 cents to $44.88. Ford engine (F) added 19 cents to $10.75.
tech stocks overall had a lackluster day. NVIDIA (NVDA) fell 3.7% to $117. Apple (AAPL) fell 2.9% to $226.21.
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