The markets today continued to see the whipsaw, back-and-forth trading pattern that they've been stuck in for weeks. This time the market was reacting President Trump, who tweeted that missiles will be coming to Syria; this in turn provoked Russia to say that they will shoot down any missiles aimed at Syria. The Dow 30 was lower by 216, the S&P 500 sold off 14, and the Nasdaq 100 closed lower by 25 at the possibility of conflict.
The move today was led by the banking sector, as Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) lost 2.5% and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) sold off 1.4%. The bank stocks in general (NYSE: XLF) continue to chop around within a range, but many technical traders now think that support will give way as the bulls have had two weeks to buy this dip, but have not done so. American Express (NYSE: AXP) and JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) were also lower on the day, which was part of the reason the Dow lagged behind.
Traders seemed to run for the safe plays like Gold (NYSE: GLD), Silver (NYSE: SLV), and Bonds (NYSE: TLT) in the face of today's weakness. Oil (NYSE: USO) was also strong today following yesterday's bullish move above resistance. Oil is now higher by almost 6% on the week.
Facebook (NYSE: FB) was once again a big focus as CEO, Mark Zuckerberg returned to Capitol Hill for more questioning, this time from the House Energy & Commerce Committee. The stock had a record day yesterday and continued its push higher today, adding 0.78%.