S&P 500 Rallies as Trump Grants Iran 2 Weeks to Negotiate

The S&P 500 (SPX) opened the Friday trading session well in the green after President Trump said he would make a decision on the U.S. joining the Israel-Iran conflict in two weeks. That provides a window for Iran to negotiate its nuclear program with Israel and the U.S. while the battle stretches into day 8.

U.S. involvement in the war would likely mean targeting Iran’s underground Fordow uranium enrichment facility with a “bunker-buster” bomb. At the same time, U.S. involvement could lead to other countries joining the conflict, increasing the risk for a global war that would rattle stocks.

S&P 500 Shrugs Off Israel-Iran Conflict

With the S&P 500 higher, investors are betting that Iran will come to the negotiating table and that the conflict will be short-lived. In fact, the benchmark index has actually risen in price compared to the start of the battle last Friday.

Another market factor to watch out for is oil. If oil supply chains in the Middle East are disrupted, that could lead to higher prices and transportation costs for companies and consumers. In turn, that would negatively impact profit margins and consumer spending.

The S&P 500 is up by 0.50% at the time of writing.