US Stocks Drop Amid Middle East Tensions; Trump Announces Maritime Trade Security Measures

The major averages closed broadly lower amid widening hostilities in the Middle East, but came off their earlier lows after President Donald Trump stated in a Truth Social post that he has ordered the Development Finance Corporation to provide political risk insurance and guarantees for the financial security of maritime trade through the Gulf, adding that the U.S. Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, if needed.Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.1. STOCK NEWS:Targetreportedand provided guidance for Q1 and FY26Best Buyreportedand increased its quarterly dividendMongoDBreported better-than-expected Q4 earnings and revenue butPinterestannounced afrom Elliott Investment Management, saying it expects to use the proceeds to repurchase sharesAppleannounced awith the M5 chip and announced new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips2. WALL STREET CALLS:Blockto Buy at HSBCMongoDBto Neutral at BairdPalo Alto Networksto Buy from Sell at AreteuniQurereceived two more, from Wells Fargo and Mizuho, after the company said the FDA "strongly recommended" a new Huntington's disease studyWall Streetof recent IPOs Once Upon a Farmand SpyGlass Pharma3. AROUND THE WEB:Verizonconsidered pulling back on its NFL sponsorship deal, WSJ reportsSenate Democrats are preparing legislation that would break up U.S. meatpacking cocmccpanies, WSJ saysMetawill form a new applied AI engineering group in its Reality Labs division, WSJ reportsFederal Communications Commission, FCC, chair Brendan Carr has signaled the watchdog does not plan to block Paramount's$110B deal to buy Warner Bros, FT saysDF Research, representing the opinions of Keith Dalrymple and Dalrymple Finance, issued a cautious note on WillScot4. MOVERS:Battalion Oilgains afterto raise approximately $15M at a price of $5.50 per shareZiff Davishigher after entering aits Connectivity division to Accenturefor $1.2B in cashPlug Powerincreases after appointingTheravance Biopharmafalls after announcing it will wind down itsThredUPlower afterand providing guidance for FY265. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:Upload Softwareand provided guidance for Q1 and FY26Antalpha, with CFO Paul Liang commenting that the company "finished 2025 on a solid footing"Paysafe, with EPS beating consensusCignabacked itsas it announced a change in CEOOn Holdingand provided guidance for FY26INDEXES:The Dow fell 403.51, or 0.83%, to 48,501.27, the Nasdaq lost 232.17, or 1.02%, to 22,516.69, and the S&P 500 declined 64.99, or 0.94%, to 6,816.93.