Here’s one definition of disheartening: Commuting home on a LIRR train packed with people going to the US Tennis Open and my phone starts vibrating telling me North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan.

The report at the time stated the missile flew  over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido and may have broken up and crashed offshore.

I’m sitting there not knowing what will be the reaction to this belligerent act by the White House or Japan.

Given my job as a financial editor, I look at what the market’s reaction was to this act. Gold moved $20 higher as Dow futures crashed 100 points and a flood of cash rushed into the US Treasuries.

All predictable reactions, but the speed of the moves was startling. Welcome to the black box headline-scanning trading desks.

Overnight Japan denounced the firing and demanded the UN meet to determine how to react, while President Trump condemned the move and spoke with Prime Minister Abe.

Trump did show restraint in not immediately reacting, which probably was not the scenario most analysts had imagined. If you war game this event, then you believe the retribution would be swift and astounding.

Let’s see what Tuesday bring from DC, to see what Wall Street’s true reaction will be.