XOM - Stocks Halt Gains Oil Treasuries Rally As Investors React to Israel-Hamas Conflict: What's Driving Markets Monday? | Benzinga
Markets kicked off the week with heightened volatility due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Israel’s defense minister announced a comprehensive blockade on the Gaza Strip, encompassing even food and water restrictions.
Crude oil became the most reactive asset to the conflict as markets resumed trading overnight, with WTI surging nearly 4% by midday in New York.
Major stock indices flirted with negative territory as investor risk appetite waned due to renewed uncertainty in the Middle East. In contrast, bonds served as safe havens, with Treasury yields declining across the yield curve. Notably, both the two- and 10-year yields dropped by 13 basis points.
Cues From Monday’s Trading:
The S&P 500 was 0.1% lower at the start of the week, while blue-chip stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to hold steady.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 slipped, down 0.4%, while small caps in the Russell 2000 surprisingly outperformed, rising 0.1%.
US Index Performance On Monday
Index Performance (+/-) Value
Nasdaq 100 -0.34% 14,922.34
S&P 500 Index -0.07% 4,305.38
Dow Industrials +0.03% 33,427.73
Russell 2000 +0.14% 1,745.56
Analyst Color:
The real takeaway from this week, the first of October, is that a terrible September may be behind us, said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at Commonwealth Financial Network. The real economy is in good shape and the markets are processing rising rates and are now showing signs ...