S&P 500 cuts losses despite rising geopolitical tensions amid Israel-Hamas war

investing.com:

Investing.com — The S&P 500 climbed Monday, after cutting losses despite rising geopolitical tensions amid fears the Israel-Hamas conflict could spark a wider war in the Middle East.  

The S&P 500 rose 0.6%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%, 162 points, Nasdaq rose 0.4%.

Following the surprise Hamas’ attack on Israel, and subsequent declaration of war by Israel, geopolitical tensions in the Middle-East dominated investor attention and briefly kept a lid on their appetite for risk.

The escalating conflict comes just as optimism was building that the U.S. was inching closer to brokering a deal that would normalize ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel, potentially paving the way to the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict.    

“The Saudi leadership has insisted on Israel making significant concessions to the Palestinians as part of any normalization agreement and given what has transpired, it is very difficult to envision a government that is now on war footing to agreeing to such terms,” RBC said in a note.

Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) rose more than 3% after announcing that Israel government ordered the oil major to shutdown natural gas production at the Tamar platform in the Mediterranean amid safety concerns.  

The move higher in energy stocks was also supported by rising oil prices on fears of disruptions in the oil-rich Middle East amid rising geopolitical tensions.

Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL), Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) and Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) were among the biggest gainers in the energy sector.

Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL), United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL) and American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) were down sharply after cancelling flights to Israel.

“It is not prudent or appropriate