Dow Jones leads Wall Street lower at the close, US-Iran fears drive oil higher

Market Overview - US stocks opened lower due to geopolitical tensions affecting oil prices, with the Dow Jones down 0.5% at 49,425 points, S&P 500 down 0.3% at 6,863 points, and Nasdaq down 0.2% at 22,704 points [2] - US stock futures also fell as fears of a military strike on Iran pushed oil prices higher, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures dropping 0.3% and 0.2% respectively [4] Oil and Gold Prices - Brent crude oil prices climbed above $71 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate approached $66, marking the largest daily increase in oil prices since October [5] - Gold prices rose back above $5,000 per ounce amid the rising tensions [5] Employment Data - Initial jobless claims for the week ending February 14 saw a significant drop of 23,000 to 206,000, which was below the expected 225,000 [3] - Continuing claims increased by 17,000 to 1.87 million, indicating a rise in the number of individuals continuing to receive unemployment benefits [3] Company Performance - Walmart reported modest fourth-quarter earnings beats under its new CEO, but shares fell approximately 3% in premarket trading as investors evaluated the company's holiday sales performance [6]