DJI: Dow Jones Washes Out Nearly 800 Points as Iran Strikes Back at Israel, Roiling Global Markets

30-stock American index washed out 1.8% Friday, followed by the Nasdaq and the S&P 500, which were also staring at big losses.

📉 Dow Jones Takes a Hit

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJI lost a hefty chunk of its valuation Friday when the surprise warfare between Israel and Iran entered a new phase. Tehran retaliated against Israel’s overnight attack, firing dozens of projectiles that hit Tel Aviv.
• The response came after Israel fired barrages of missiles at Iran’s nuclear site and the nation’s top military brass. The assault claimed one victim — the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
• If there’s anything markets don’t like more than uncertainty, it’s uncertainty paired with warware and geopolitical stresses. And on Friday, we got a lot of that and then some. And markets crashed.

📢 Stocks Retreat amid Global Fears

• The 30-stock Dow Jones erased 770 points, or 1.8%, to settle at 42,197.79. Traders couldn’t lift the index one bit throughout the session as things started spiraling even before the bell with futures contracts diving more than 700 points.
• The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite also slipped deep under the flatline for the day with the broad-based benchmark finishing lower by 1.1%. The tech-heavy stock gauge signed off with a 1.3% loss with all but one of the Magnificent Seven members in the red. Tesla TSLA was up 2%.
• The US dollar, in the meantime, got a rush of adrenaline as stock bros converted to forex bros who were seeking a safe place to park their cash. The buck wrapped up the session modestly higher against the euro.

👀 Looking Ahead: Scary Weekend

• What happens now? It’s a weekend full of uncertainty as both sides have vowed to keep fighting and carry on with the war even if that means more destruction, casualties, and risk to global peace and market stability.
• "The Iranian nation won’t permit the blood of its valued martyrs to go unavenged, nor will it ignore the violation of its airspace," Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on X. "Our Armed Forces are ready, and the country's officials and all the people are behind the Armed Forces," he added.
• Trading instruments to watch: Gold XAUUSD is certainly an asset worth keeping your eye on. The precious metal rose 1.4% Friday to close at $3,432.83 per ounce. Oil was the biggest beneficiary, up about $5, or 7%, as markets reacted to an expected supply risk from the oil-rich Middle East areas.