The stock market took some wild turns on Monday.
The leading market indexes started the day well below Friday's closing levels. The S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.14%) opened 1.2% lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 1.20%) dropped 1.1%. As usual, the volatile Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 1.40%) took a wider turn, starting at a 1.5% drop.
Image source: Getty Images.
These moves made sense in light of recent events. A joint American and Israeli operation launched attacks on Iran over the weekend. As a direct result, oil and natural gas prices rose more than 6%, soaring to values not seen since June 2025. Wall Street went into defensive mode.
But investor nerves calmed down after the opening bell. All three indexes were back to breakeven by noon ET, and the Nasdaq even rose as much as 0.4%. The leading market sectors today are energy, industrials, and technology, while consumer goods stocks remain down on both the cyclical and defensive sides.
Patience, young grasshopper
Days like this can make your attention wander from your actual investing goals. A 1.5% drop sounds scary at breakfast. A flat finish by lunch sounds like nothing happened.
Both reactions miss the point, though.
What really matters is whether the companies you own are still solid, still growing, still worth holding. The names that make up the heavyweight indexes above usually fall in that category, which is why long-term investing in indexes through index funds works so well.
SNPINDEX: ^GSPC
Key Data Points
Spoiler alert: one weekend of geopolitical tension rarely changes that truth. Wall Street has seen many crises and macroeconomic challenges over the years, and the index points still tend to rise in the long run.
