(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Stocks traded lower Friday after the U.S. confirmed that an air strike killed a top Iranian general, sending crude oil prices sharply higher and opening up concerns about geopolitical risks.
The S&P 500 lost 23, the NASDAQ shed 71 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down nearly 234 points, settling to 28,634.
"The oil market reacted strongly to this, it was up 4% at one point, but the stock market has not. It's really a wait-and-see on this to see what the Iranians do in their response," says Andrew Busch, Economist at AndrewBusch.com.
"If they choose to attack tankers in the Gulf, that will probably cause production issues,” he added. “But times have changed since 2007, and the U.S. producing as much oil as it is and natural gas has really taken away that likelihood of a severe spike up in oil prices.”
He also noted that the biggest driver of the market right now is not geopolitical concerns but Federal Reserve monetary policy.