WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks moved sharply lower at the start of trading on Friday, with the major averages pulling back off yesterday's record closing highs. Selling pressure has waned since then open, however, with the major averages subsequently climbing well off their initial lows.
Currently, the major averages are off their worst levels but still stuck firmly in negative territory. The Dow is down 241.69 points or 0.8 percent at 28,627.11, the Nasdaq is down 64.60 points or 0.7 percent at 9,027.59 and the S&P 500 is down 23.31 points or 0.7 percent at 3,234.54.
The initial sell-off on Wall Street came amid rising geopolitical tensions following news a U.S. airstrike killed Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani.
The U.S. Department of Defense said in a statement that it had killed the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard's elite Quds Forces in an airstrike on the Baghdad International Airport in Iraq.
The Pentagon claims Soleimani was behind the recent attacks on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and said the 'strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans.'
Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said there would be 'revenge' for Soleimani's death, while President Donald Trump cryptically tweeted, 'Iran never won a war, but never lost a negotiation!'
Adding to the negative sentiment on Wall Street, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing U.S. manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted at a faster rate in the month of December.
The ISM said its purchasing managers index slid to 47.2 in December from 48.1 in November, with a reading below 50 indicating a contraction in manufacturing activity.
The modest decrease came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the manufacturing index to inch up to 49.0.
With the unexpected drop, the index pointed to the fastest rate of contraction in manufacturing activity since June of 2009.
Computer hardware stocks are pulling back sharply after turning in some of the market's best performances on Thursday.
After ending the previous session at a new record closing high, the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index is down by 1.7 percent.
Significant weakness has also emerged among financial stocks, with the KBW Bank Index and the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index falling by 1.6 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
Transportation, semiconductor, and chemical stocks are also seeing notable weakness, while energy and gold stocks are bucking the downtrend.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.3 percent, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed by 0.6 percent.
The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day, as the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has inched up by 0.1 percent but the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.2 percent and the German DAX Index has tumbled by 1.4 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved significantly higher due to their appeal as a safe haven. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 6.6 basis points at 1.816 percent.
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