This weekend’s attack on the Saudi oil facilities sent investors into a bit of a panic over a potential military conflict between the U.S. and Iran thus sending the Dow down 142 points on geopolitical concerns.  Particularly impacted by the selloff were industries that use a lot of fuel – the airlines and cruise operators.  The price of gas for consumers is also expected to spike.  Conversely, the oil and defense companies benefited from the speculation.  The consensus remains that the future of this decade-long bull market is contingent on the Fed keeping interest rates low and the Trump administration succeeding with a trade deal with China.  Volume was considerably above average with 7.6 billion shares traded. 

mon  SEPTEMBER 16, 2019 / 5:15 pm 

Wall Street drops after Saudi attacks, energy stocks spike

Noel Randewich

DJ: 27,219.52  +37.07      NAS:  8,176.71  -17.75         S&P:  3,007.39   -2.18       9/13

DJ: 22,076.82  -142.70     NAS:  8,153.54  -23.17         S&P:  2,997.96  -9.43        9/16

(Reuters) - Energy stocks spiked while most of Wall Street fell on Monday after weekend attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities added to investors’ concerns about geopolitical risk and a stumbling global economy.  The attacks on the world’s biggest crude exporter sent oil prices up more than 20% before they eased, as various nations said they would tap emergency reserves to ensure stable supplies.

The S&P 500 energy index .SPNY, a gauge of one of the worst performing sectors so far this year, soared 3.3%, its largest one-day gain since January. Shares of Apache Corp (APA.N), Helmerich and Payne (HP.N) and Cimarex Energy (XEC.N) jumped between 12% and 17% and led gainers on the S&P 500.  The Saudi-led military coalition battling Yemen’s Houthi movement said the attacks were carried out with Iranian weapons, raising the prospect of a global conflict involving the United States and Iran.  “The U.S. investor is waiting with bated breath about what the U.S. and its allies might do,” said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

Anticipation of higher fuel costs drove down shares of airlines and cruise line operators with the S&P 1500 airlines index .SPCOMALI shedding 2.1%, while Carnival Corp (CCL.N) fell 3.2%.  The S&P 500 retailing index .SPXRT lost 1.4%, with retailers, which would be hurt by higher fuel prices, among the biggest drags on the S&P 500.   “The drone strike in Saudi has had an impact on how investors are looking at the security and stability of the global energy supply chain and is fueling a degree of risk reassessment,” said Peter Kenny, founder of Kenny’s Commentary LLC and Strategic Board Solutions LLC in New York. 

Shares of defense companies Raytheon Co (RTN.N), Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) and Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N) rose more than 2%. J.P. Morgan upgraded Raytheon shares to “overweight.” 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 0.52% to end at 27,076.82 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.31% to 2,997.96.  The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 0.28% to 8,153.54.

Eight of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower.

Wall Street's more than a decade-long rally continues to hinge on whether the Fed will keep cutting interest rates and on progress in U.S.-China trade talks. A recent easing in trade tensions has brought the benchmark S&P 500 .SPX about 1% below its record high.  Among other movers, General Motors Co (GM.N) fell 4.2% after the United Auto Workers went on strike on Sunday, the first nationwide strike at GM in 12 years. 

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.12-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.11-to-1 ratio favored advancers.  The S&P 500 posted six new 52-week highs and one new low; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 53 new highs and 28 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 7.6 billion shares, compared with the 6.8 billion-share average over the last 20 trading days.