Here's the Iran-war playbook for investors as the conflict drags on

Markets have been jolted by the US-Iran war: stocks fell while oil and bond yields rose, with oil back to $100 a barrel and the S&P 500 down nearly 3% for the year. Don’t panic — that’s the first rule investors should follow, market pros say. Since World War II, markets have recovered losses in the six months after a war 72% of the time, said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B.

Riley Wealth Management, adding, "So making any drastic changes to your long-term investment portfolio is probably a mistake." Avoid rushing into obvious "war stocks" such as energy, aerospace, and defense; gains in those areas may already be priced in. Hogan pointed to investors piling into defense earlier this year when the US raided Venezuela, with the iShares US Aerospace & Defense ETF rising as much as 9% in the first two weeks of the year and now down 3% from its mid-January peak.

"Piling into some obvious winners likely can cost you money as well, so I wouldn't chase that," he said.

United States

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