The Dow dropped 240 points today before rebounding late in the session to close up 68.  This is being described in today’s commentary as “investors brushed asides worries” about Iran – but the hourly chart tells a different story.  At any rate, it’s premature to prognosticate about what this conflict may or may not do to the market.  It could be nothing. Or it could be very serious.  If Iran retaliates, it could be very serious indeed.  But as the commentary continues, “in the absence of any additional escalation, the market will end up shrugging its shoulders” and that is likely quite true.  But it’s a gigantic if.  Volume was above average at nearly 7.8 billion.  

mon  JANUARY 6, 2020 / 4:59 pm 

Wall St ends up despite Middle East tensions as tech-related shares gain

Caroline Valetkevitch

DJ:  28,634.88  -233.92        NAS:  9,020.77  -71.42          S&P:  3,234.85  -23.00      1/3

DJ:  28,703.38  +68.50         NAS:  9,071.47  +50.70         S&P:  3,246.28  +11.43     1/6

NEW YORK, Jan 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended higher on Monday, rebounding from Friday’s losses as investors brushed aside worries about increased tensions in the Middle East and shares of Alphabet and other internet names gained.  The S&P 500 energy index rose along with oil prices after the U.S. air strike that killed Iran’s top military commander on Friday, raising the threat of a new conflagration in the Middle East.  Stocks investors remained jittery at the start of trade on Monday but the market gained strength heading into the close. Friday’s losses came a day after major indexes notched record highs on the new year’s first trading day.

“The geopolitical spark knocked it down from its highs, but in the absence of any additional escalation there, the market will end up shrugging its shoulders and I think that’s what you saw today,” said Michael Antonelli, market strategist at Robert W. Baird in Milwaukee. “The start of a fresh year and the deployment of fresh capital into the market” helped, he added.  Top internet companies led the S&P 500 higher. Alphabet Inc rose 2.7% after Pivotal Research upgraded the stock to “buy.”  But chipmakers were among the day’s biggest decliners, after ranking as star performers in 2019. The Philadelphia semiconductor index, which surged about 60% last year, was down 1.0%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 68.5 points, or 0.24%, to 28,703.38, the S&P 500 gained 11.43 points, or 0.35%, to 3,246.28, and the Nasdaq Composite added 50.70 points, or 0.56%, to 9,071.47.

Boeing Co ended up 0.3%, reversing slight losses earlier. The Wall Street Journal reported that the planemaker was considering plans to raise more debt to bolster its finances after the grounding of its 737 MAX jet.  The S&P 500 communication services index was the top gainer among the major sectors, rising 1.2%.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.16-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.17-to-1 ratio favored advancers.  The S&P 500 posted 23 new 52-week highs and one new low; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 73 new highs and 26 new lows. 

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 7.77 billion shares, compared to the 6.93 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.