Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN/AP) - Heavy turbulence gripped financial markets earlier in the week, putting major indexes on pace for their third-straight losing week.
Oil prices have been volatile since the Iran war began, as oil producers cut production because their crude has nowhere to go with Iran cutting access to the Strait of Hormuz. Investors are worried that could cause a surge in inflation that could hurt the global economy.
Still, financial advisors are telling clients the same thing they have many times before... stay the course.
"When geopolitical events occur and there's so much uncertainty and unknowns, people worry and panic," said Michael Angelucci with Level Financial Advisors. "But over time, the markets tend to hold up, as you've always heard me say, they rebound."
Angelucci points to advice from Vanguard this week that said historically, this type of market volatility has tended to be transitional rather than enduring and have typically recovered even when tensions have persisted.
Even after downturns due to geopolitical uncertainty in the past US stocks have delivered positive average returns six and 12 months later.
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters Friday that Iran is “exercising sheer desperation” in the Strait of Hormuz.
“We have been dealing with it and don’t need to worry about it," Hegseth said.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, added that the U.S. military has “made it a priority to target Iran’s minelaying enterprise” impacting the strategic waterway.