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On Friday, a day after Israel launched “Operation Rising Lion” targeting over 100 Iranian nuclear and military sites, Iran retaliated with missile attacks on Israel. The strikes marked the start of what Iranian state media called “The Hard Retaliation.”

The state media confirmed the death of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salami. Israel’s Defense Ministry claimed most IRGC leadership was killed.

The conflict between Israel and Iran has had a notable impact on the global financial markets.

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The Dow Jones index fell over 700 points on Friday following Israel’s surprise airstrike on Iranian nuclear sites. Despite this, the CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed a decline in overall market sentiment, remaining in the “Greed” zone.

The SPDR Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (NYSE:XOP) witnessed consistent demand throughout the week, recording five straight days of inflows. Weekly net investments hit $310 million, the fund’s second-strongest week of 2025.

Other sector-focused ETFs trailed the energy fund’s inflows, with the Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLB) pulling in $295 million and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU) attracting $267 million for the week.

D. Boral analyst Jesse Sobelson has expressed concerns that current market conditions are creating uncertainty for general equity investors. This uncertainty, in his view, could lead to a resurgence of inflation and increased volatility, particularly in sectors that are heavily reliant on raw material costs.

Energy exploration and production (E&P) stocks, especially U.S. companies with little exposure to the Middle East, might benefit from a sustained increase in oil prices, he pointed out.

He further emphasized that this situation exacerbates the already challenging OPEC+ negotiations as member countries grapple with escalating security risks and internal, often conflicting, priorities.

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Sobelson posits that Tetra Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TTI) stands to gain if U.S. shale activity experiences a resurgence. He anticipates that an uptick in drilling by energy companies would directly increase demand for Tetra’s specialized water and chemical services, thereby boosting the company’s performance.