Live Nasdaq Composite: Fear Grips Markets Amid Middle East Escalation

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On this Friday the 13th, markets are reeling amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. Israel has launched missiles at Iran, targeting its nuclear program. In response, the price of oil is soaring and stocks are plummeting. At the open, all three major stock market averages are lower, while the price of crude oil is up 7.8% to over $73 per barrel.

Magnificent Seven stocks are mostly lower, with the exception of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), which is managing slight gains. The Volatility Index (VIX) has climbed 13% as fear grips investors and traders in this risky climate.

Here’s a look at the performance as of morning trading:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: Down 464.13 (-1.09%)
Nasdaq Composite: Down 158.64 (-0.79%)
S&P 500: Down 38.49 (-0.63%)

Market Movers

Defense stocks are in the spotlight after Israel launched its ongoing missile strike on Iran, driving gains of 2%-3% in shares of RTX (NYSE: RTX), Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), and Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC).

Oppenheimer is bullish on content streaming giant Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), reiterating its “outperform” rating on the stock and citing a “long subscriber runway” for the company.

Goldman Sachs likes software provider Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE), reemphasizing its “buy” rating on the stock and citing favorable AI catalysts. Goldman analysts have a $570 price target on ADBE.

Despite volatility in its share price, EV leader Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) has received a strong endorsement from Wall Street. Morgan Stanley analysts have reiterated their “overweight” rating on the stock, citing several tailwinds in fast-growing areas like data, robotics, energy, AI, and more.

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