For crying out loud now what happened?

That’s what a lot of my friends had to say at today’s open.  But as I reminded them, you have to be prepared for volatility like this.

Sure, we ran higher by 700 points yesterday on the idea the trade war fears were over.  But you can’t let your guard down.  Instead, you have to continue to protect your portfolio even when the party appears to resume.

Of course, my friends didn’t want to hear this.   Apparently, reality is too much.

But what did happen this morning?

At the moment, there’s a war of words between President Trump and Russia.

Trump has warned that he’s considering taking military actin against Syria following a suspected chemical attack.

In fact, Trump recently tweeted:

“Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria.  Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and ‘smart.”  You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!”

Russia, which is a powerful Syrian ally, has said that it would shoot down any missiles fires by the U.S., and would further retaliate against American launch sites.

While the news sent the markets lower, we are seeing activity in defense stocks, especially Raytheon (RTN), which produces the Tomahawk cruise missile.  In fact, the stock is now up $3 on the day to $221.14.

Related ETFs are rocketing higher, too, including:

• The iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA), up $1.74 today
• The SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF (XAR), up $1.21 today
• The Power Shares Aerospace & Defense ETF (PPA), up $0.18 today

Should the situation worsen and we do launch a Syrian attack, we expect to see higher highs in most defense stocks. Stay tuned for more.