Following yet another week spoiled by surging oil prices, investors will be anxiously awaiting relief as the war against Iran by the U.S. and Israel faces a third week.
The three major averages suffered a losing week, dropping at least 1% in the period as oil saw even more gains on Friday. Brent crude and U.S. West Texas Intermediate were another roughly 3% higher on the day, pushing their week-to-date advances to more than 11% and more than 8%, respectively. Stocks, meanwhile, set new 2026 lows this week.
The second Federal Reserve policy meeting of the new year will be taking place next week. The chances of a rate cut are virtually zero, but traders will look for any clues on the when the central bank may cut rates this year.
“I wouldn’t expect much,” said Will McGough, chief investment officer at Prime Capital Financial. He noted the central bank could address the geopolitical conflict as it relates to inflation as a way to reinforce a data-dependent stance.
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