LIVE MARKETS-Wall St takes a breather heading into long weekend

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WALL ST TAKES A BREATHER HEADING INTO LONG WEEKEND

U.S. stocks closed mixed Thursday, clawing back earlier losses as investors balanced heated Iran war rhetoric against global efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane.

All three major U.S. stock indexes plummeted at the opening bell in response to President Trump's saber-rattling address to the nation, during which he ramped up the threat of further attacks on Iran. But those losses eased amid choppy trading as the session wore on as dozens of countries banded together to explore ways of facilitating traffic flow through the essential waterway.

That aside, investors were not in much of a buying mood heading into a three-day weekend, amid rapidly unfolding geopolitical developments.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 61.07 points, or 0.13%, to 46,504.67, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 7.37 points, or 0.11%, to 6,582.69 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 38.23 points, or 0.18%, to 21,879.18.

With this, all three indexes notched strong weekly gains.

The S&P 500 and the Dow remain down 3.8% and 3.2% for the year so far, while the tech-laden Nasdaq has suffered a 5.9% year-to-date plunge.

Real estate .SPLRCR, software & services .SPLRCIS, small caps .RUT, transports .DJT outperformed on the day, while airlines .SPCOMAIR, travel/leisure .SPCOMHOTL and consumer discretionary .SPLRCD shares suffered steep percentage drops.

Amid the fog of war and economic uncertainties, data suggests the U.S. labor market is idling in low-hire/low-fire mode, even as skyrocketing oil prices put increasing upward pressure on price growth.

It's a scenario that presents a quandary to the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks, raising the no-win possibility of being caught between spiking prices and a softening economy.

The Labor Department is due to release its March jobs report on Friday, but as markets are closed in observance of Good Friday, investors will have to sit and stew about the report until Monday.

Here's your closing snapshot:

(Stephen Culp)

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