<body><p>STORY: U.S. stocks ended lower after a South Korean ship was hit by an explosion in the Strait of Hormuz.</p><p>The Dow fell more than one percent, the S&P 500 dropped four tenths of one percent after hitting a record high Friday and the Nasdaq slid about two tenths. It also climbed to a new high Friday.</p><p>Energy stocks rose after reports of the latest confrontations which appeared likely to persuade commercial shippers the strait was still unsafe after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. Navy would open it.</p><p>Also, the United Arab Emirates reported a fire at an oil installation following an Iranian drone attack.</p><p>Meanwhile, in the U.S., earnings continue to far outpace predictions. S&P 500 companies are expected to post aggregate earnings growth of 28% year-over-year for the first quarter, double the expectation of 14% at the start of April, according to LSEG.</p><p>Brad Bernstein, managing director at UBS Private Wealth Management remains optimistic about stocks.</p><p>"I think markets look great going into the rest of the year. As long as this war with Iran ends, because we have incredible earnings."</p><p>(FLASH)</p><p>"Revenue growth is the best it's been in five years. Consumer spending, if you look at bank earnings, continues to be better than expected. And when you look at the underpinnings of the economy, such as manufacturing growth, we're seeing a lot of new order spend and increase in the underlying economy of manufacturing, which is very bullish."</p><p>:: Ebay</p><p>Individual stocks on the move Monday included GameStop which fell 10% after the video game retailer offered to buy much larger eBay for about $56 billion in a cash-and-stock deal. Shares of Ebay advanced 5%.</p><p>:: Amazon</p><p>Amazon shares gained after the e-commerce giant said it was rolling out "Amazon Supply Chain Services," opening up its logistics network for other businesses to use.</p><p>That hurt shares of UPS which plunged 10.5%, and FedEx which fell 9%.</p></body>
