Iran Conflict Impacts Global Equity Markets

The ongoing conflict involving Iran has led to significant volatility in global equity markets, particularly impacting Asian markets, while U.S. indexes have shown resilience.

Since the U.S. and Israel initiated bombardment of Iran on February 28, 2026, major indexes in some markets, such as South Korea, have entered correction territory.

The S&P 500, however, was trading within 4% of its record high on March 11, 2026, despite a slight daily decline. In contrast, South Korea's Kospi Composite Index has fallen over 10% since the beginning of March 2026, with Bank of America strategists describing the extreme volatility in Korean stocks as resembling a "textbook bubble."