The escalating Middle East conflict and tariffs are threatening to overshadow the stock market’s gains in June, indicating a potentially rough summer following the recent rally of the S&P 500 toward its record high
Dow Jones futures, the S&P 500, and Nasdaq futures are expected to open on Sunday evening following President Donald Trump’s announcement that the U.S. had conducted airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities. Additionally, Tesla’s robotaxi program launch is on the near horizon.
The stock market displayed mixed results over the past week, showing resilience amid significant developments concerning Israel and Iran. Stocks like Viking (VIK), Dell (DELL), Super Micro (SMCI), and Shake Shack (SHAK) are currently within their buy zones.
On Friday, the S&P 500 declined as investors kept a close watch on the latest news from the Middle East. The broad market index dropped 0.22%, closing at 5,967.84, as Friday marked the S&P 500’s third consecutive losing session.
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The strikes come as Tesla will launch its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, this Sunday. The service features a “safety monitor” in the passenger seat. Meanwhile, Uber Technologies (UBER), which may be impacted by the Tesla robotaxi updates, has established a new base and is preparing for an aggressive market entry.
On Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated that the central bank is not in a rush to lower benchmark rates and will continue to be guided by data, particularly given the uncertain effects of Trump’s tariffs on the economy. Following his comments, the S&P 500 experienced a slight decline.
Trump responded to Powell on Thursday, claiming that the Fed Chair is costing the U.S. “hundreds of billions of dollars” by postponing rate cuts. The president had previously remarked that “stupid’ Powell “probably won’t cut rates ahead of the Fed’s decision on Wednesday.
President Trump announced Saturday night on Truth Social that the U.S. bombed three Iranian sites. “We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE,” he wrote on his social media platform.
A fleet of B-2 stealth bombers executed the attack, as the B-2 is the sole aircraft capable of delivering the largest bunker-buster bomb designed to penetrate deeply buried Iranian nuclear facilities, particularly at Fordow. On Saturday night, President Trump stated that the nuclear sites had been “totally obliterated.”
“Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s No. 1 state sponsor of terror,” Trump said after the attacks.
Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research, said earlier this week that the S&P 500 is currently trading approximately 3% below its recent 52-week high. “If there’s a calming down of the geopolitical activities, then you know that could be helpful,” he stated.
