Wall Street Drops Amid North Korea Tensions

U.S. equities closed lower on Wednesday with mild declines as the market trimmed losses toward the end.

Growing tensions between the US and North Korea rattled markets around the world, which halted the rally in stocks that was spurred by corporate earnings and global economic expansion.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 0.17 percent to 22,048.70, as Walt Disney contributed the most declines. The S&P 500 ended below the flatline at 2,472.02. The index dropped as much as half a percent, with utilities leading losses. The Nasdaq composite was down 0.28 percent to 6,352.33.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, touched a one-month peak.

Politics raised U.S. defense stocks. Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman all advanced while the Dow Jones U.S. defense index rose 1.6 percent after notching a record peak.

Some weak corporate results contributed to the pressure on U.S. stocks.

Losses in Walt Disney trimmed nearly 28 points off the Dow industrials. The company lost 3.9 percent to $102.83 after it posted a lower-than-expected decline in operating income from its cable-networks business and also announced it will end a deal with Netflix after next year. Shares of Netflix shed 1.4 percent to 175.78.

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