Wall Street's main indexes fell on Friday after Israel's deadly strike on Iranian nuclear facilities inflamed tensions in the oil-rich Middle East and battered risk sentiment across global markets.
Israel has warned that the widescale strikes were the start of a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon. Iran has promised a harsh response.
Oil prices surged nearly 7% on fears the conflict could disrupt crude supply from the Middle East. U.S. energy stocks rose in tandem, with Exxon (NYSE:XOM) up 1.7%.
Airline stocks dropped as fuel costs could surge if supply bottlenecks materialize. Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) was down 3.7%, United Airlines dropped 4.4%, and American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) declined 4.7%.
Defense stocks climbed, with Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), RTX Corporation, Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) gaining between 2.2% and 3.2%.
"We have major domestic policy uncertainty and now on top of that, you have geopolitical unrest, which not only is impacting oil markets, but the broader risk premium," said Eric Teal, chief investment officer at Comerica (NYSE:CMA) Wealth Management.
Washington said it had no part in the operation, but President Donald Trump suggested Iran had brought the attack on itself by resisting U.S. demands to restrict its nuclear
program.
Trump also urged Iran to make a deal, saying "the next already planned attacks" will be "even more brutal".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he would speak to Trump later in the day.
Source: Invesing.com
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