Stocks staged a comeback Monday as investors shook off pressures driven by the deadly Israel-Hamas conflict.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was higher by 0.59%, or 197.07 points, to close at 33,604.65. The S&P 500 gained 0.63%, ending at 4,335.66. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.39%, landing at 13,484.24.
The major indexes were down across the board earlier in the day. At session lows, the Dow had shed 153.89 points, while the S&P 500 lost 0.6%. The Nasdaq pulled back as much as 1.15% before recovering.
Stocks were under pressure earlier on Monday after the Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalated Saturday, with militant group Hamas staging an invasion, to which Israel was seemingly caught off guard. More than 700 Israelis have been killed in what Hamas is calling Operation Al Aqsa Flood, with at least 687 Palestinians killed in retaliatory Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip, according to latest figures. The attack led Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare his country is at war.
Hamas is a designated terrorist group backed by Iran that has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007.
The rising geopolitical tensions caused by the conflict could have ramifications for the energy market, with some experts forecasting a brief surge in crude prices but overall limited impact. The rising tension could also serve to stoke further volatility in market that has kept traders worried with persistent inflation and higher interest rates.
WTI crude oil futures were up 4.3% on Monday, settling at $86.38. International Brent futures rose 4.2% to $88.15. WTI and Brent posted their best days since April 3.
All sectors ended Monday in the green, led by gains in energy and industrials, which closed higher by 3.5%, and 1.6%, respectively. Halliburton was the biggest energy winner, with the stock popping 6.8%, followed by Marathon Oil Corp and ConocoPhillips.
Along with oil and gas giants, major defense companies also jumped amid the Middle East conflict. Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman added 8.9% and 11.4%, respectively.
"I think there's a knee-jerk reaction," said Anna Rathbun, chief investment officer for CBIZ Investment Advisory Services, in oil prices and in shares of defense and airlines companies. "So there's dust going up, and now the dust is coming back down. I think it will take a few days to really understand where the impact actually is."
Rathbun said she is closely watching Iran, a major OPEC producer, to determine crude movements as the conflict progresses.
Some investors expressed confidence that the market had already assessed the impact of Hamas' attack over the weekend. Small caps rose on Monday, boosting confidence about the broader economy. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap companies added 0.6%.
"As long as the market sees this as contained, and that diplomatic efforts continue to focus on keeping the conflict contained, the market looks at it and says, we've seen this before," said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial. "The market doesn't look back, it looks ahead. And that's the market's job."
The bond market was closed Monday for Columbus Day, meaning Wall Street will have to wait until Tuesday for an update on interest rates.
Investors are also looking ahead to this week's earnings reports as further signals about the health of the broader economy. Companies reporting this week include PepsiCo, Walgreens Boots Alliance, JPMorgan and BlackRock.