U.S. stocks rocked on Monday as investors tried to keep up with the news on the first day of trading since the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran began.
After falling more than 1% across the board, major indices recovered most of their losses even after global markets saw sharper declines earlier in the day. At Monday’s close, the Dow Jones was down 0.15%, while the S&P 500 was up 0.04%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.36% on the day.
Trading was focused on technology stocks, including Nvidia and Palantir, while a slowdown was seen in travel stocks, including airlines United, Delta and American.
Earlier in the day, global markets saw deeper declines, with London’s FTSE 100 stock index down 1.2% and Germany’s DAX down 2.4% at the close.
Investors around the world are paying close attention to the possibility of rising gas prices after Iran retaliated against US airstrikes. Gas prices have risen almost 50% in some European and Asian markets since Saturday.
Over the weekend, Iranian drone attacks shut down QatarEnergy, the state gas company that is one of the world’s largest producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Tehran also attacked oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, an essential passage for oil tankers heading to Europe and Asia.
On Monday, benchmark gas prices in Europe and Asia rose 40% at the close.
The price of Brent crude oil, the world reference for oil prices, rose 6.9% at the close. In the United States, crude oil futures closed at around $72 a barrel, the highest level since last summer, although still well below the high of $120 a barrel seen after Russia invaded Ukraine for the first time in 2022.
The Iran conflict has increased uncertainty about the US economy, which is still reeling from the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs on prices. Mortgage rates rose on Monday after falling below 6% for the first time since 2022, rising to 6.12%, while 10-year US Treasuries rose 4%.
The US attack on Iran comes as Americans have begun to resent Trump over inflation after he campaigned on promises to quell the rising cost of living. Trump said Monday that the war is expected to last four to five weeks but could “last much longer,” an uncertainty that could affect consumer prices if the attacks drag on.
JP Morgan chief Jamie Dimon told CNBC on Monday that he was not worried about the impacts of the conflict on US inflation.
“The economy doesn’t usually get a boost from something like this unless it’s prolonged,” Dimon said. “If it is not prolonged, it will not be a major inflationary blow.”
