Topline
Defense stocks surged while the broader market dipped slightly Monday as Wall Street sifted through the market fallout of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which escalated this weekend by the latter’s historic attack.
Key Facts
Major U.S. indexes declined early Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq each down 0.2% or more.
Sevens Report analyst Tom Essaye attributed this slump to “rising geopolitical tensions,” pointing to how the related surge in crude oil prices may impact inflation and thus could keep monetary policy tighter.
Energy stocks gained alongside oil prices—Exxon, Chevron and Occidental Petroleum rallied about 3% apiece Monday—but it was defense stocks that were the biggest immediate market winners amid Monday’s broader downturn.
The iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF rose nearly 4% by 10:15 a.m. EDT, buoyed by major spikes from Lockheed Martin (up 8%), Northrop Grumman (up 11%) and Raytheon (up 4%).
Meanwhile, airline stocks were among the hardest-hit as concerns mounted about air travel to Israel; shares of American, Delta and United airlines each fell about 6%.
Surprising Fact
Lockheed Martin’s stock jump Monday was the biggest for the U.S.’ largest defense contractor on a non-earnings day since March 2020, narrowly topping the gains it notched Immediately after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Northrop Grumman shares also had their best day since 2020.
Key Background
Accompanying last year’s onset of Russia’s move into Ukraine was a rally for energy and defense stocks and a broader market decline. The safe-haven U.S. dollar, which typically surges amid geopolitical instability, is up modestly since the escalation began Saturday. More than 1,100 have died in the weekend’s conflict.
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