What Israel's Soaring Markets Are Saying About the Iran War

[Mosby]

Iranian ballistic missiles are raining down on Tel Aviv and Haifa. Israel’s main airport is shut. Much of the workforce is moving in and out of bomb shelters. For most countries, such a wartime scenario would send investors fleeing and markets tanking.

Yet the opposite is happening. Israeli markets are buoyant, outperforming the world. Israeli stocks, which trade Sunday through Thursday, have been posting solid gains. The TA-125 Index, also known as the Tel Aviv 125 Index, rose for five straight sessions as of the end of last week, even as global markets tread cautiously amid the specter of a prolonged Middle East war. It rallied again on Sunday after the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

What is going on?

Partly this can be explained by the familiarity of local investors with war. But markets are also signaling renewed confidence in Israel’s position and strategy—and Donald Trump’s decision to strike Iran’s nuclear sites has only strengthened that perception.

https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israeli-stock-market-iran-conflict-92315796?st=EuFw7s&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

[Midnight Writer]

1. War is a business, and business is good.

[marybourg]

2. Israel was under an existential threat, and that threat has been lifted.

Relief bounce.