Pre-Markets in Red on Middle-East Geopolitical Conflicts

We had thought, as of around mid-day yesterday, that all the major news items for the week had already passed. After all, both Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) reports for May had already been released, marking the state of inflation in the U.S. economy. Also Weekly Jobless Claims and the small-business survey from NFIB came out.Israel Attacks Iran, Upending Global MarketsBut all of it pales in comparison to Israel’s military strike on Iran yesterday. The unprecedented event has immediately sent up oil and gold prices on the global market. Both West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude prices are up over +7% this morning, pushing both levels over $70 per barrel. Just 5 weeks ago, oil was at 4-year lows: $57 per barrel. This is shaping up to be the largest one-day gain in oil prices for at least 5 years.Israel has reportedly attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities, located at various regions throughout the Mid-Eastern country. But analysts have long theorized that retaliation could come in terms of shutting down oil ports in the region, making availability scare and driving up the price per barrel. Those spot prices have already gotten a head start; we hadn’t seen $70 oil since April 2nd, literally the day the U.S. slapped massive reciprocal tariffs on virtually all of its trade partners.Gold prices have surged in a similar manner — long seen as a hedge against global economic turmoil. After notching all-time highs two months ago to the day, at $3425 per ounce, gold prices have launched into another orbit: $3450 at this hour, up +1.4% so far today. For some context, these levels are more than double where we were at October 2022 lows of $1644 per ounce.Bond yields are up also, but in a much more measured fashion. In fact, they’re coming off relatively low levels in the past few days, and are now +4.36% on the 10-year, +3.93% on the 2-year and +4.86% on the 30-year. These yields have been policing U.S. market exuberance so far in 2025; it remains to be seen if it will also have an impact on current developments.Both the Dow and S&P 500 are down -1% at this hour. The Nasdaq, which has again led market indexes over the past month, is down -1.3% currently. The small-cap Russell 2000 remains the laggard, as it has since early February, is down -1.4% so far this morning.What to Expect from the Market TodayAfter the market opens, a preliminary June Consumer Sentiment report is due, expected to come in a couple points higher month over month, to 54.0. But to be honest, the market will rest heavily on this morning’s headlines — including what happens next, in terms of Iran’s retaliation, etc. — and whether or not indexes can notch their third-straight week higher.7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.5% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free reportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks