The US markets settled lower with notable losses on Friday following escalating tensions in the Middle East and US manufacturing activity that fell to its lowest reading in about a decade. The US 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 US 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 said Iran never won a war, but never lost a negotiation. Trump later claimed that he does not want to start a war with Iran but said he is ready and prepared to take whatever action is necessary to protect American lives.
Separately, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) released a report showing US 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 street, 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.
Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 233.92 points or 0.81 percent to 28634.88, Nasdaq fell 71.42 points or 0.79 percent to 9020.77 and S&P 500 was down by 23.00 points or 0.71 percent to 3234.85.
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