Key Points:
- Investors are buying stocks early in the week but selling them off every Thursday and Friday.
- The S&P 500 has lost a total of 9% on Thursdays and Fridays since the Iran war started.
- President Trump’s shifting tone from peace talks to threats of “oblivion” is scaring the market.
- High oil prices and the lack of a ceasefire suggest the downward trend will continue.
The U.S. stock market has fallen into a weird, stressful pattern five weeks into the Middle East war. Every week starts with a bit of hope, and prices usually drift up on Monday and Tuesday. But like clockwork, the market collapses almost every Thursday and Friday. Investors are terrified of what might happen over the weekend when they cannot trade, so they dump their stocks before the closing bell on Friday.
Since the war with Iran began, the S&P 500 has lost a total of 9% during those end-of-week sell-offs. Experts call this “de-risking.” Basically, nobody wants to hold onto stocks over a long weekend when President Trump might launch a new military move. If big news breaks while the markets are closed, investors are stuck watching their money vanish without any way to sell their shares.
This week provided a perfect example of this rollercoaster. At first, people felt optimistic. Stocks jumped 3% because it sounded like Trump wanted to end the fighting and bring troops home. But that hope died quickly on Wednesday night. During a televised speech, the President changed his tune, promising to keep bombing Iran until the country is back in the “stone ages.”
Trump’s mixed signals are driving Wall Street crazy. One minute he talks about peace, and the next he threatens to blast the country into “oblivion.” He also demanded that other nations step up to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which is a vital path for the world’s oil. Iranian leaders just laughed off the threats, calling them “absurd,” but investors are taking the risks very seriously.
As a result, S&P futures already dropped 1% and oil prices are climbing again. Analysts say we won’t see a real recovery until the world returns to something resembling normalcy. For now, the “weekend fear” is the biggest factor on everyone’s mind. Until a ceasefire actually happens, expect many more “Black Fridays” as traders choose safety over profit.
With oil prices staying high and no peace deal in sight, the downward trend will likely stick around. Investors have learned the hard way that a lot can change in forty-eight hours. Until the “trading blackout” on Saturdays and Sundays feels safe again, the weekly market crash is probably here to stay.
