NEW YORK: A fresh read on inflation and initial company results this week will likely start to show the Middle East war’s effects on the US economy and corporate America, as investors hope to start moving past a conflict that has consumed markets.

Traders were wrestling with conflicting signals about a potential winding down of the war that began over a month ago, with the US-Israeli military strikes on Iran.

The S&P 500 posted a gain in last week’s holiday-shortened week, snapping a five-week streak of losses.

The benchmark index earlier last week closed its worst-performing quarter since 2022, weighed down since late February by the war and the resulting surge in energy prices.

“It’s going to be hard to get the market’s attention off the Middle East, oil prices and the risks that have emerged,” said Matthew Miskin, co-chief investment strategist at Manulife John Hancock Investments.

“The markets have been so myopically focused on geopolitical risk and ... how all this is going to shake out.”

Stocks have stumbled this year, with concerns about artificial-intelligence disruption and private credit weakness compounding uncertainty over the Middle East conflict. The S&P 500 was last down nearly 6% from its late-January all-time high.