Tuesday's Market Minute: Muted Reaction

Stocks slipped modestly yesterday to start the week after an attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities over the weekend.

Despite the new geopolitical risks, the benchmark S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq were down only 0.3% for the session. The small cap Russell 2000 actually rose 0.4% on Monday as the energy sector within the index provided a lift. The closely-watched CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up nearly 7% yesterday on the modest losses for the overall market, but remains below the $15 level.

Are investors getting too complacent to headline risks and will the attack on Saudi Arabia be quickly forgotten? With the consumer leading the U.S. economy through the recent headline risks in 2019, will higher gas and energy prices start to dent their spending heading into the key holiday shopping season? There are a lot of risks for investors with the S&P 500 only 1% below its all-time highs as complacency has taken hold.

The FOMC announcement tomorrow may provide a catalyst for markets but will it just be another muted reaction by stocks?

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