U.S. Stock Futures Fall After Airstrike Kills Iranian Commander – Yahoo Finance, Yahoo.com

******************************* “The ‘severe retaliation’ aspect is possibly what is scaring the markets as it could mean that there will be a counter-attack versus American diplomats, ”said Alberto Tocchio, chief investment officer at Colombo Wealth in Lugano, Switzerland. “Markets could use this excuse to take some profits as sentiment and positioning are possibly too high.”(The S&P) ******************************************************** Index climbed 0.8% to a fresh record in New York on Thursday, boosted by tech shares including Apple and Alphabet. The gain extended the benchmark gauge’s 29% advance forIn addition to the Middle East situation, investors are keeping an eye on geopolitical tension surrounding North Korea, where Kim Jong Un said he was no longer bound by his pledge to halt major missile tests and would soon debut a “new strategic weapon.”“We are only into the third day of the new year, and a big fat dollop of geopolitical uncertainty has landed on investors’ desks already, ”Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at Oanda in Singapore, wrote in a note. “Readers now know why I am reluctant to look past 1Q of the new year at this stage,” Halley said, adding that the holiday-shortened week shifts the focus to “the real start of the trading year” on Monday. MARKETS: E-Mini futures on S&P down 1.1% E-Mini futures on Dow Jones down 0.9% E-Mini futures on Nasdaq 1.3% lowerVIX Index trading (*****************************************************************************************% higherWTI crude futures up 3.7% to $ (***************************************************************************. ****************************************************************************** / / bblBloomberg spot dollar index up 0.2% (ECONOMIC DATA: *****) (*************************************************************************************************************: – Nov. Construction Spending MoM est. 0.4% (prior -0.8%) (**********************************************************************************************************: 15. ISM Manufacturing est. (9) prior (******************************************************************************. 1) (**********************************************************************************************************: 11. ISM New Orders (prior

********************************** 2) (**************************************************************************************************************: ISM Prices Paid est. (1) prior**************************************************************** (7) (**********************************************************************************************************: 11. ISM Employment (prior

**********************************. 6) (*******************************************************************************************************: 00 – Dec FOMC Meeting Minutes (******************************************************************************************************: **************************************************************************************************** Wards Total Vehicle Sales est. 18. (m) prior