If war is terrible for the economy, why does the stock market keep reaching all-time highs? When Russia invaded Ukraine, the S&P 500 opened deep in the red. Hours later, while missiles were still falling, the market had erased its losses and closed higher.
Similar rallies appeared during the conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States. To ordinary investors, it looked irrational, but behind the scenes, however, the market was behaving exactly as its modern structure demanded.