Markets likely to shrug off Syria strike

US stocks fell last week, with the S&P 500 declining 0.3 percent.

The S&P 500 ended the week with a slight 0.1 percent dip on Friday. A US military strike on a Syrian airbase initially provoked selling but the market recovered later in the day.

Reactions among analysts to the attack on Syria were mixed.

Sean Callow, senior strategist at Westpac Banking Corp, said that “there is likely to be a lingering sense of unease”.

However, Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors, said that the strike is “unlikely to have a lasting impact in markets”, an opinion shared by Jim McCaughan, CEO of Principal Global Investors.

Indeed, Kevin Marder said that “the market has bullishly become more of an earnings-driven affair”, while geopolitical incidents may “provide a buying opportunity”.