Prolonged Iran

• Energy stocks like Exxon Mobil, Occidental Petroleum, and Valero Energy topped S&P 500 performers for the month and quarter due to oil prices exceeding $100 per barrel. • Exxon Mobil recorded its largest quarterly gain, benefiting from sustained high crude demand. • Sector strength highlights vulnerability of broader market to geopolitical risks and inflation.

Donald Trump’s ‘little excursion’ is likely to have long-term effects, from oil prices to inflation to growth, say expertsIn the days after the US and Israel first bombed Iran, financial markets bet the economic fallout from Donald Trump’s “little excursion” in the Middle East would be short-lived.“There are risks from higher oil prices longer term. But this is a tail risk,” one US-based fund manger said after the airstrike killing Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “History has shown time and time again that geopolitical flare-ups like this tend to be short-lived. This one should prove to be no exception.’’ Continue reading...

Polls show declining American tolerance for the US-Iran war as it enters its third week on March 14, 2026, with thousands in Tehran celebrating Al-Quds Day amid ongoing hostilities. US public opinion has shifted due to the conflict's duration and economic fallout from high oil prices. Military leaders indicate no quick end, with continued US and Israeli airstrikes across Iran. This erosion of support could pressure policymakers amid deployments of additional forces to the region.