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MARKETWATCH FRONT PAGE
U.S. stocks slump sharply at the open on Friday, retreating from their previous record closes, as an American airstrike in Baghdad stokes fears of an escalating conflict in the Middle East. See full story.
Why oil could hit $80 even without a ‘full-blown’ U.S.-Iran war
Oil prices could “make a run at $80” a barrel even in the absence of a full-blown U.S.-Iran war, one analyst says. And that isn’t necessarily bad news for U.S. stocks, history shows. See full story.
How the stock market’s early January performance could affect its 2020 returns
The first trading week of the year isn’t the market predictor many investors think it is, writes Mark Hulbert. See full story.
AMD stock finally breaks its dot-com-era record high
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. had the best-performing stock on the S&P 500 in 2018 and 2019, but it took a strong start to 2020 to finally break the chip maker’s record high from the dot-com bubble days. See full story.
U.S. manufacturing slump worsens in December as ISM index falls to 10-year low
A slump of among American manufacturers deepened in December as a survey of senior executives showed the weakest performance in more than 10 years. The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index slid to 47.2% last month. See full story.
MARKETWATCH PERSONAL FINANCE
There is no federal e-cigarette tax, but at least 20 states and Washington, D.C., have approved some kind of tax on e-cigarettes. See full story.
