The U.S. dropped bombs on key nuclear facilities in Iran over the weekend, escalating the conflict between the two nations. On Monday, Iran announced it had attacked a U.S. military base in Qatar in retaliation. However, Qatar’s Defense Ministry stated it successfully intercepted the missile strike and reported no casualties.
Investors largely shrugged off the escalating geopolitical turmoil. The Dow rose 0.89%, the S&P 500 added 0.96%, and the Nasdaq gained 0.94%.
Iran Foreign Ministry: Iran strike on US base in Qatar was self-defense (Agencies)@IRIMFA_EN #Israel #Iran #ceasefire #DonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/p8742M0u31
— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) June 24, 2025
Wall Street bet that the oil supply would not be seriously disrupted by the conflict, leading to a sell-off in oil prices throughout the day.
In a social media post, President Donald Trump urged oil prices to remain low, stating that allowing prices to rise would “play into the hands of the enemy.” Jim Cramer, host of CNBC’s “Mad Money,” noted that the market tends to “move on” from conflict in the Middle East as long as the price of oil doesn’t spike and impact the U.S. economy. He highlighted that Wall Street is accustomed to chaos in that region.
Editor's Take | Trump steps in as peacemaker in the #IsraelIranConflict—crude slumps 15%, Asia opens strong, VIX cools off. Relief rally or calm before the next storm? @nikunjdalmia decodes what’s next for financial, commodity, global, and Indian markets!#Geopolitics… pic.twitter.com/zIynY2ArwO
— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) June 24, 2025
Cramer weighs in on market resilience
Cramer also pointed out that investors are shifting their focus to more bullish developments, such as comments from Federal Reserve officials suggesting rate cuts could be in the near future. Wall Street was also bolstered by reports of significant spending to hire top talent and positive news about major companies’ recent operational milestones. I don’t think we could have had such a bullish day without those Fed officials floating the idea of imminent rate cuts. Still, it’s entirely possible that our government destroyed Iran’s nuclear program,” Cramer said.
“That means this war may be nearing its end, and a jump in oil prices may have been taken off the table.”
All in all, if #Iran's regime chose only to target U.S. bases in #Qatar and #Iraq, it's telling. Compared to the Iranian retaliation after Soleimani's elimination in 2020 when it focused on Iraq, it's a step up in terms of a response. But still Qatar is a safer choice for…
— Jason Brodsky (@JasonMBrodsky) June 23, 2025
Late Monday, President Trump announced a peace deal between Israel and Iran, suggesting that the conflict was indeed short-lived. Analysts had previously cautioned that Iran’s retaliatory strike could lead to a pullback in equities and a spike in crude oil prices. Still, the tepid response in crude prices indicated that commodity traders didn’t see this as a likely outcome. The most significant risk for markets would have been Iran shutting down the Strait of Hormuz and curbing the global oil supply.
However, as various investors and market strategists have echoed, even a slight pullback would present a buying opportunity. “Quite frankly, the Israeli economy is too small to affect many multinationals’ bottom lines, and Iran has been isolated from the global economy for decades,” said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist for Interactive Brokers. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell more than 8 percent on Monday, while U.S. stocks edged closer to a new record high, suggesting that Wall Street had anticipated the conflict between the U.S. and Iran would be short-lived.
