(Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell for a second session on Monday, led by financial and technology stocks, as escalating tensions between the United States and Iran pushed investors toward safe-haven assets such as gold and government bonds.
After ending 2019 on a strong note, Wall Street’s main indexes have been knocked off record levels as the killing of a top Iranian general by the United States last week raised the threat of a new conflagration in the Middle East.
Tehran has threatened to avenge the killing of its commander, Qassem Soleimani, while President Donald Trump has warned that the United States would strike back, “perhaps in a disproportionate manner”, if Iran retaliated.
Investors sold some of 2019’s star performers including technology stocks .SPLRCT, which fell 0.3%. Apple Inc (AAPL.O) was down 0.4% after brokerage Needham downgraded to “buy” from “strong buy”, while Microsoft (MSFT.O) also dipped 0.4%.
The Philadelphia semiconductor index .SOX, which surged about 60% last year, was down 0.9%.
Big lenders, including J.P. Morgan (JPM.N), Bank of America (BAC.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N), were down between 0.5% and 1.3%, as U.S. Treasury yields fell. “Tensions in Middle East raise concerns for investors following what has been a really great period in markets,” said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments in New Vernon, New Jersey. “Certainly, some are using this as a reason to step back a little bit.”
The energy index .SPNY rose 0.3% as Brent crude futures LCOc1 topped $70 per barrel after Trump also threatened sanctions on Iraq if U.S. troops were forced to withdraw from the
