Markets are likely pricing in the risk of Iranian retaliation, but history shows that unless the situation escalates into a global war, volatility usually fades after the initial shock. We've seen this movie before—as long as it doesn’t become World War III, the panic is likely temporary.

The Middle East conflict has been simmering for decades. The Israel-Palestine war has never truly ended, and now this escalation involving Iran is being seen as a widening of the battlefield.Investors rotated out of high-growth, high-volatility names—particularly those tied to AI, quantum computing, and speculative tech. Travel stocks were also hit, as wars naturally deter tourism.

The attack reportedly took place late Thursday, after US markets had closed, so the immediate impact wasn’t visible then. But once futures markets opened, the reaction was swift: major US indices fell nearly 2%, and oil prices surged more than 13%.

Finally,Just when markets were starting to breathe a little easier with a temporary trade truce between the US and China, another global shock has reignited investor fears—Israel launched a pre-emptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, citing intelligence that Iran was building nuclear weapons.