Israel-Iran conflict uncertainty keeps investors on edge

June 20, 2025 (MLN): The conflict between Israel and Iran is intensifying, with both countries not backing down from strikes and their leaders continuing to issue heated rhetoric.

The prospect of the United States potentially joining the fray, which Russia warned would cause “a terrible spiral of escalation”, is putting the world on a knife’s edge.

That unease is reflected in the markets. While U.S. exchanges were closed Thursday for a holiday, futures retreated in the evening local time and oil prices jumped during the U.S. trading session.

Across the Atlantic, travel and leisure stocks suffered the most as the Middle East conflict cast a shadow over international aviation, as per CNBC.

At the Paris Air Show, however, aircraft manufacturers are still booking billions in orders. Airbus had secured more than $20 billion in deals as of Thursday.

That said, those encouraging numbers may not reflect immediate optimism about the global economy or geopolitics, aircraft take years to deliver, and both Airbus and Boeing have a backlog of more than 8,000 and 5,000 aircraft, respectively.

Until investors get a clearer sense of whether the U.S. will launch strikes on Iran, markets aren’t likely to find solid ground.