Iran fired missiles at U.S. air bases in Qatar and Iraq, but they appeared to be intercepted.
*US ENERGY SECRETARY SAYS IRAN OIL SANCTIONS REMAIN IN PLACE
(And China continues to buy Iranian oil, making Washington either powerless to enforce the sanctions, or Beijing's accomplice by turning a blind eye…
… I'm not sure which one of the two is worse)#OOTT #Iran
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) June 27, 2025
Oil prices dropped sharply and stocks rallied as traders bet that Iran doesn’t have the willingness or capability to further retaliate against U.S. forces. They hope this will be the extent of the Iranian response.
U.S. crude tumbled 7.2% to $68.51 a barrel, the biggest one-day drop since early April.
#MarketAlert | Oil: Oil prices rose slightly on Friday, but still recorded their steepest weekly drop in three years as fears of supply disruption from the Iran-Israel conflict faded#Oil #Brent #crude #Oilprices #IranIsraelConflict pic.twitter.com/AOPtXZ2Ubv
— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) June 28, 2025
It’s the first time oil has traded below $70 since June 12, a day before Israel began launching strikes at Iran’s nuclear facilities. Meanwhile, the Dow rose 374 points, or 0.89%.
The S&P 500 gained 0.96% and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.94% higher.
U.S. Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright: Iran is humbled and shell shocked after US strike (Agencies)@SecretaryWright #Iran #USAirstrikes #Nuclear #IsraeliranConflict pic.twitter.com/xENw3IxOKJ
— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) June 27, 2025
Kirk Lippold, former commanding officer on the USS Cole, said, “I think what you’re seeing in many ways is a symbolic attack by Iran. Ten missiles is not that much.
Every one is dangerous, every one could kill or maim many Americans. But hopefully at this point we’re not going to see further responses by the Iranians.
Iranian officials gave Qatar advance notice that an attack was coming before launching the missiles, according to a source. The coordination was intended to minimize casualties and preserve an off-ramp.
Investing in U.S. markets lately is challenging. Traders have to deal with rapidly changing tariffs, mixed economic signals, uncertainty over rates, and now an escalating conflict in the Middle East. You might think the hostilities would send stocks lower and oil prices higher, for fear of retaliation or a potential Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane.
Iranian attacks impact oil prices
Yet the opposite is true. Cedric Leighton, military analyst and retired U.S. Air Force Colonel, said, “As of now, there’s a certain symbology to this.
If they (Iran) can control their reaction, they wish for an offramp to some degree, but that’s something that remains to be seen. If we decide to respond more forcefully, all bets are off at that point.”
Oil markets are waiting for evidence of an actual disruption, said Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group. Traders have seen a lot of false alarms when it comes to geopolitical disruption risk in the oil market,” McNally said.
“Unless there’s a material interruption in Gulf energy production or flows, I think any further spikes will be contained.”
Even Energy Secretary Chris Wright said he expected oil to fall. “I would not expect much movement of oil upwards from the tensions that are going on,” Wright said. I’m not surprised oil prices have moved down a little bit, maybe more than I would have guessed.
Safe-haven trades, which tend to boom in times of global strife, were muted: Gold rose just 0.2% to $3,390 a troy ounce.
Treasury yields were slightly lower as bonds gained a bit. The dollar fell too, slipping 0.3% Monday afternoon. It had been up nearly 1% earlier.
George Vessey, lead FX and macro strategist at Convera, stated, “While the broader bias still leans toward structural dollar weakness, escalating Middle East tensions are injecting support for the greenback via the commodity channel. That channel will remain central in the days ahead, as Iran — according to state-run TV — has vowed to retaliate by closing the Strait of Hormuz.”
There’s a risk that escalation could send oil and gas prices surging and the economy slowing just as higher inflation rates kick in. The Federal Reserve may be hamstrung if inflation surges, unable to lower its key interest rates that tend to lift the economy and markets.
For now, Wall Street is largely looking past the Middle East conflict.
