Please stay tuned for important disclosure information at the conclusion of this episode.

Welcome to Investing Insights. I'm your host, Ivana Hampton. What's fueling Wall Street's optimism?

While geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran are dominating headlines, U.S.

stocks recently hit an all-time high. The global oil shock is just one major disruption to

rattle investors before receding this year. The enthusiasm for the artificial intelligence boom

also waned in early 2026.

So what should investors make of the market's fluctuating mood?

Tom Lorisela is the Global Markets Editor for Morningstar, Inc.

And the editor of Smart Investor Newsletter.

Thank you for joining me, Tom.

Glad to be here.

Well, the war with Iran is nearing two months, Tom. Glad to be here.

Well, the war with Iran is nearing two months, and it remains unclear what the next steps between the U.S. and Iran will be.

What have been some of the key takeaways from how the markets responded to the war?

And I should note, we are recording this episode on the morning of Wednesday, April 22nd.

Yeah, it's been a really interesting time.

You know, unfortunately, we've had to deal with this war and its impact on people and the economies.

You know, the initial reaction was a lot of uncertainty and fear with the strait of our moves being closed and what

that was going to mean. We had the immediate oil price shock. And of course, equities sold off really

quickly in response to that. We had some other flight to safety moves here in terms of the dollar.

But it's been interesting how quickly the market has looked beyond that. Yes,

you know, the worst of the shooting seems to stop for now. But in terms of, you know, the concern

...