War in Iran Barely Fazes Markets as Investors Make Quick Corrections

Investors in public stock markets did something uncharacteristic Monday: They barely blinked following the weekend attacks on Iran led by the U.S. and Israel.

Economists said the stock market’s quick correction after a brief morning selloff is a good indication that the rest of the economy will remain on an even keel despite escalating tensions in the Middle East.

J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon summed up many investors’ reaction to the military operation, which he surmised could ultimately create a lasting peace in the region.

“You see what’s doing in the markets, not dramatic,” Dimon said in an appearance on CNBC on Monday. “The economy’s not often driven by something like that, unless it’s prolonged.”

The S&P 500 was up 0.2 percent around noon after falling 1.2 percent in early trading, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.5 percent after declining 1.6 percent as investors fled to tech stocks like NVIDIA and Microsoft, which in turn saw modest gains in share price, according to CNBC.

Investors tended toward safe options with a lot of cash on hand that could weather a war.

Investors can continue to see traction in defense-related stocks and commodities such as oil and gold, while real estate investment trusts are continuing to see returns in the net-lease sector, which is generally a “safe haven” in their world, according to Georgetown University adjunct professor Jonathan Morris.

“For stocks, there have been days of declines and overall softness,” Morris told Commercial Observer. “Interest rates — the 10-Year Treasury — actually ticked up, which is a bit of a surprise and counterintuitive since, in times of war and global uncertainty, investors tend to flock to the most reliable securities available and rush into U.S. Treasury securities, which would boost prices and reduce yields. Not so today.”

The 10-Year Treasury hovered between 4 and 4.05 percent throughout the day Monday.

REITs in the net-lease sector that continue to see interest from investors include Agree Realty Corporation (ADC), W.P. Carey (WPC), Vici Properties (VICI) and Essential Properties Realty Trust (EPRT). 

“[Net-lease REITs] own large portfolios of properties, each fully net-leased to generally creditworthy tenants subject to very long-term leases,” Morris said. “The tenant is responsible for maintaining the property that is owned by the REIT, so the REIT has no operating exposure or expense. Net-lease REITs are the ‘safe haven’ of the REIT sector.”

A general “malaise,” however, continues to cloud the REIT market, which has been the case throughout 2025, according to Morris.

“As far as the international markets go, if you are a large pension fund, your investing timeline has not changed,” Alexander Goldfarb of Piper Sandler told CO. “You can have global disruptions, wars, various geopolitical shocks, but ultimately it’s the economy that matters.”

With investment in stable assets that depend more on long-term economic conditions, real estate investors tend to keep a cooler head than those putting their money into the stock market, where fortunes can change in a heartbeat.

Either way, the storms never last and the movers and shakers in the public markets know that too, Goldfarb said.

“Back in COVID, the stock market tanked, and then within a few months it was rallying back,” Goldfarb added. “We saw that with tariffs last year. So I think that most investors are trained and conditioned to not panic, to think longer term, and especially when you’re talking about real estate and the private market.”

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.