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Goldman Sachs ( GS ) rises after Q1 profit beat

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Salesforce ( CRM ) falls on report of likely Informatica ( INFA ) deal

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Tesla falls on layoffs report

(Updated at 4:00 p.m. ET/2000 GMT)

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK, April 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed

sharply lower on Monday, as an early lift from a strong retail

sales report gave way to a jump in Treasury yields and concerns

about rising geopolitical tensions between Iran and Israel.

With the S&P 500 coming off its biggest one-day percentage

drop since Jan. 31 in the prior session, stocks opened higher in

part after data showed retail sales increased by more than

expected in March.

Also providing early support were gains in some financial

stocks after their quarterly results, as Goldman Sachs ( GS )

rose after its first-quarter profit beat Wall Street estimates,

fueled by a recovery in underwriting, deals and bond trading

that lifted its earnings per share to the highest since late

2021.

M&T Bank ( MTB ) jumped after forecasting

better-than-expected annual net interest income (NII), while

brokerage Charles Schwab ( SCHW ) advanced despite reporting a

fall in quarterly profit. The stocks were the three best

performers in the S&P 500 financial sector.

But gains faded over concerns the hostilities between Israel

and Iran could continue to flare, and Treasury yields jumped,

with the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note hitting its

highest level since November.

"You saw a little bit of a bounce this morning because maybe

people thought 'OK it sold off on Friday' in anticipation of

something really bad happening in the Middle East," said Ken

Polcari, managing partner at Kace Capital Advisors in Boca

Raton, Florida.

"All the geopolitical stuff is going to cause tension and

anxiety in the market, the realization that rates are not going

down anytime soon has got to be finally hitting home, that's

what the bond market is telling you, that rates are going to go

higher."

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 61.79

points, or 1.21%, to end at 5,061.62 points, while the Nasdaq

Composite lost 289.93 points, or 1.79%, to 15,885.17.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 250.63 points, or

0.66%, to 37,735.24.

Israel faced growing pressure from allies to show restraint

and avoid an escalation of conflict in the Middle East as it

considered how to respond to Iran's weekend missile and drone

attack, launched after a suspected Israeli attack on its

embassy.

Each of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower, with the

rate-sensitive real estate and utilities

sectors both falling more than 1 percent.

Stocks have struggled recently, with the S&P 500 suffering

two straight weeks of declines and its biggest weekly percentage

drop since October last week as investors have pushed back

expectations for the timing and size of any rate cuts from the

Federal Reserve.

Apple ( AAPL ) fell as one of the biggest drags on the S&P

500 after data from research firm IDC showed the company's

smartphone shipments dropped about 10% in the first quarter of

2024.

Tesla slumped after the EV maker said it will lay

off more than 10% of its global workforce, according to an

internal memo seen by Reuters.

Salesforce ( CRM ) stumbled after Reuters reported, citing a

source, that the customer relations software maker was in

advanced talks to acquire Informatica ( INFA ).