US stocks tanked after Israel and Iran carried out airstrikes

US stocks tanked on Friday after Israel carried out airstrikes inside Iran, triggering a missile response that shook global markets and raised serious concerns about possible US military involvement.

According to CNBC, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed late Friday that Iran had launched missiles targeting Israeli territory. Videos captured rockets heading toward Tel Aviv, but authorities have not yet confirmed if any struck their targets or were stopped by Israel’s air defense system.

The fallout hit Wall Street fast. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 769.83 points, a 1.8% drop. The S&P 500 lost 1.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.3%. The losses wiped out earlier weekly gains and reversed a market rebound led by large-cap tech names.

Nvidia, which helped drive the recovery from April’s slump, took a hit as investors rushed out of high-growth assets. Defense and oil companies, on the other hand, saw strong demand. Exxon climbed 2%, while Lockheed Martin and RTX jumped nearly 3% each after the Closing Bell.

Oil and gold surge after Israel-Iran exchange spooks traders

Tensions exploded Friday afternoon when Defense Minister Israel Katz announced a state of emergency after the military confirmed its strike inside Iran.

A report from NBC News quoted two US officials who said the United States was not involved in the operation and did not assist Israel. That didn’t stop speculation. Traders watching the region responded by dumping equities and moving into commodities.

Oil markets moved fast. Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures surged more than 7%. WTI came close to $74 a barrel before easing slightly. TD Securities commodity strategist Daniel Ghali told clients that these price moves already match other military crises dating back to the 1980s.

He said, “Historically, geopolitical risks typically faded within one month, and completely evaporated within six months, in line with subsequent macroeconomic headwinds and deployment of spare capacity. Expanded wars (including involving USA) have a more significant impact.”

TD Securities identified 14 previous events since 1948 involving similar geopolitical escalations. On average, oil prices peaked after 2.36 months, rising 17%, though that includes a 135% spike during the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

Post-1980 events saw smaller gains, but the current spike in WTI futures—up more than 8% Friday and over 20% in June—is already pushing against those averages. Traders are watching the weekend closely, especially for any signs of damage to oil infrastructure like refineries, pipelines, or platforms.

Safe-haven demand also pushed gold prices to a near two-month high. Risk-off sentiment dominated as investors tried to shield themselves from more surprises.

US supports Israeli defense as Iran backs out of nuclear talks

Iranian state TV announced Friday that the country would not attend the sixth round of nuclear talks with the US scheduled for this weekend. The withdrawal came shortly after its retaliatory missile launch.

While the Biden administration was replaced by Donald Trump in the White House earlier this year, talks between both countries had continued under diplomatic channels. Iran’s decision to step away immediately raised alarms that the window for negotiation may have closed for good.

Even though NBC News denied US military participation in the Israeli attack, a separate report from Axios cited an unnamed official who said the US was helping intercept Iran’s missiles. The US has a long history of supporting Israel under existing defense agreements and remains its closest military ally.

Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu confirmed further action would be taken against Iran. In a statement posted on X, he warned Iran’s leadership that “more is on the way,” and told Iranians that they better impeach president Masoud Pezeshkian if they don’t want to be wiped out.

The timeline for peace or de-escalation now looks even worse than before. Up until as recent as 2 years ago, Israel and Iran avoided direct attacks, instead relying on allies or regional militias. That boundary has now fully collapsed.

Both sides are openly targeting one another, and the US is involved in some form—defensively, at minimum. At worse, politically, which just might lead us straight into World War III.

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