Market Stress Nears Tariff-Shock Level as Iran War Hits Assets

Market stress is building at the fastest pace since last year’s tariff shock, as the war in Iran pushes oil prices higher, drives up borrowing costs and strengthens the dollar — a combination that is putting pressure on virtually every corner of financial markets at once.

A Bank of America index that measures future price swings implied by global options markets in equities, rates, currencies and commodities has jumped to 0.79, not far from the 0.89 peak it reached during the Liberation Day turmoil in April last year, when President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs sent markets into a tailspin. A reading above zero signals more stress than normal.