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Earnings took center stage again with a disappointment from IBM and a better-than-expected performance from Morgan Stanley dividing markets. The Dow fell for its second day in a row. Morgan Stanley gave rise to the financials sector after posting increases in its quarterly earnings and revenue. The New York-based firm joined Citigroup , JPMorgan and Bank of America in reporting a solid first quarter. Crude oil prices held near the flatline after a weekly reading on inventories showed a decline, though not as steep as analysts anticipated. U.S. stockpiles shrank by 1 million barrels, more than half the drop a week earlier. Abbott Laboratories was active after beating estimates on its top- and bottom-line. Sales grew nearly 30% in a year full of acquisitions and product launches.

IBM's revenue from cloud, mobile and data crunching rose 13% but that was not enough to offset the sluggish growth at the older businesses. IBM shares are falling after it reported a 20th consecutive quarter of revenue decline. Verizon and Yahoo are waiting till nearly the last minute to close their buyout deal. Yahoo says it expects it to close in June. Meanwhile, Yahoo's revenue jumped 22% in what is likely its last quarterly report as an independent company. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the social media giant will delve deeper into augmented reality, a combination of digital and physical spaces. Facebook announced at the F8 conference it will allow 3rd parties to create custom masks, filters and other effects. Early partners include Nike, Electronic Arts and Warner Brothers.

While Rich Dad, Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki thinks tax reform and infrastructure spending are necessary, he doesn't think those factors will reverse a "compressing" economy. He sees a significant threat from the rise of robots and artificial intelligence. "[Robots] are going to wipe out white collar jobs," he said. More From TheStreet: Trading Strategies: How Bond Investors Should Play Fed Rate Hikes People Are Getting Bored of Trump's Tweets, Words and Statements Check Out Lincoln's Mind Blowing New Navigator--It Hasn't Been Revamped In Over a Decade Check Out Audi's Mind Blowing R8 Sports Car With Laser Lights and a Killer Price Tag

Stocks pared gains through the afternoon session, though remained in the red through to close on worries over the U.S.'s role in international conflicts. President Trump decried North Korea earlier, signaling that the U.S. could get more involved. United Airlines remained on defense in its PR crisis over a passenger being dragged from an aircraft. CEO Oscar Munoz said this afternoon that the airline would review how it handles overbooked flights, the results of which will be released by the end of April. Yelp moved higher after being upgraded to OVERWEIGHT from SECTOR WEIGHT at Pacific Crest. Analysts said competitive concerns over the reviews site's relevance were overdone. Goldman Sachs has reaffirmed its BUY rating on Disney and added the stock to its Americas Conviction Buy list. Analysts are upbeat on the media company following the success of its live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast.

Stocks moved lower as nerves over geopolitical uncertainty continued on Tuesday with investors assessing the U.S.'s increasing involvement in Syria and North Korea. The financial and technology sectors lead the decline. Shares of United Airlines continued to decline following an incident over the weekend in which a passenger was violently dragged from the aircraft for not voluntarily giving up his seat. RetailMeNot rocketed close to 49% higher after agreeing to be acquired by privately owned Harland Clarke Holdings for $11.60 a share. And Supervalu climbed after the wholesale distributor said that it will be acquiring Unified Grocers in a $375 million deal.

Stocks gave back the bulk of gains in the last half hour of trading in what had been a choppy start to the week. A surge in crude prices gave rise to the energy sector, while the health care and telecom sector were in retreat. Whole Foods jumped this afternoon after activist investor Jana Partners disclosed a stake of just over 8%. Jana is pushing for the supermarket chain to explore its options, including a possible sale. Swift Transportation surged after agreeing to a stock-swap merger with Knight Transportation . Both boards unanimously approved the roughly $5 billion. Amazon clocked gains of more than 1% after Needham analysts raised their rating on the stock to BUY from HOLD. The firm said Amazon's market share in the U.S. could increase 16% over the next five years.

Stocks moved higher to begin the week, boosted by gains in the energy and consumer goods sector. Markets came off of session highs, though, on worries over the U.S.'s increasing involvement in the Syrian conflict. Tesla gave rise to consumer stocks after Piper Jaffray upgraded its rating to BUY from NEUTRAL and increased its price target by 65%. The firm said it anticipates deliveries of the Model 3 this year. Straight Path Communications rocketed higher after AT&T agreed to purchase the company in a $1.6 billion deal. The acquisition is expected to close within a year. Lennar reduced its first-quarter earnings after taking an unexpected financial hit. The homebuilder said it took a one-time $140 million charge tied to a 2008 court cast, reducing quarterly earnings by 70%.

It's hard to predict how the upcoming earnings season will go, which kicks off this week. A record number of companies are giving guidance. Still there are high hopes for results, which begin in the coming days from JP Morgan Chase , Wells Fargo and Citigroup . This week will be a holiday shortened one as the markets are closed Friday for the Good Friday holiday. U.S. trucking giants Swift and Knight are merging. According to CNBC, this will combine two of the largest trucking companies in the United States in a deal that could be worth $5 billion. Swift and Knight are both based in Phoenix and are among the top carriers in the highly fragmented market for truckload services. Google is investing $800 million into LG Electronics to help them make the new OLED screens for smartphones. Electronic Times says the search giant wants to make the investment to secure a stable supply of the displays for the Pixel smartphones.

Stocks were under assault on multiple fronts in a busy end to the week. Geopolitical threats rose overnight after the U.S. military executed an airstrike against Syria in retaliation to a chemical attack earlier this week. Closer to home, the March jobs number was a big miss as late-season snow snarled weather-sensitive industries. Defense stocks saw some of this biggest gains of the day. Boeing , Lockheed Martin and Raytheon , the maker of the Tomahawk missiles used in the attack on Syria, each moved higher. Twitter was under pressure after defying a U.S. government request for records that could identify anti-Trump users. The social network is challenging that order in court, arguing that attempts to unmask users violates the First Amendment. PriceSmart fell after quarterly earnings and sales missed estimates. Overall revenue climbed 2%, while net warehouse club sales grew 1.8%.

The economy added 98,000 jobs in March, missing estimates of 175,000, according to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday. TheStreet's Scott Gamm speaks with Nick Colas, chief market analyst at Convergex.