War! What Is It Good For?

The 1970 song "War! What Is It Good For?" was performed by the Temptations on an album and by Edwin Starr as a single. The song's answer to the question is "Absolutely nothing!" The powerful lyrics include: "It ain't nothing but a heartbreaker / Friend only to the undertaker, woo!"

Financial market history shows that geopolitical crises, including wars, often have been good buying opportunities for stocks (chart). That was true during Gulf War III, as the S&P 500 bottomed on March 30 and rose 18.3% through yesterday's close. The ceasefire in the war between Iran and the US ended abruptly today; will that present another buying opportunity? We think so.