Potential Iranian Attack On Israel Could Rattle Markets: What Happened To Stocks When Russia Invaded Ukraine?

Global markets may fall into disarray if Iran follows through on its imminent threat to attack Israel, very much in the same way they did when Russia attacked Ukraine in late February 2022.

Secretary of State Tony Blinken on Sunday informed G7 countries that Iran may attack Israel in retaliation for Israel’s assassinations last week of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut, Axios reported.

Markets fell abruptly when Russia invaded Ukraine Feb. 24, 2022. On that date, U.S. stocks fell to their lowest level since May 2021 as investors fled to safety, Bloomberg reported.

Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index, tracked by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, dropped 2.4% right after the opening bell on that day, while nearly all major industry groups posted immediate losses that were led by sharp declines in the consumer discretionary and technology sectors. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index tumbled 2.9%, entering its first bear market since the pandemic.

U.S. markets are already under downward pressure following the Federal Reserve’s decision on Thursday to leave interest rates unchanged and a cooler-than-expected jobs report on Friday. The Dow Jones, tracked by the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA, slipped 2.08% to 38,910 points in Monday’s early-morning trading.

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Financial markets across the Middle East tumbled Monday in reaction to a potential Iranian attack on Israel, Bloomberg said.

The TA-35 Index, Israel’s equity benchmark, declined 3.1% to its lowest point since February, adding to a 3.3% fall last week. The shekel fell 1% against the dollar to trade at a nine-month low, while its $3 billion eurobond also fell.

On Friday, the Pentagon sent additional combat aircraft and missile-shooting warships to the Middle East in response to Iran’s threats to attack Israel, the New York Times reported.

The military will send another squadron of Air Force F-22 fighter jets, more Navy cruisers and destroyers capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, and, if needed, more land-based ballistic-missile defense systems.

To maintain the presence of an aircraft carrier and its accompanying warships in the region, Mr. Austin also directed the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, now in the eastern Pacific, to relieve the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt in the next couple of weeks when it is scheduled to return home.

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