Market Minute: Markets find some relief amid tensions
April 8, 2026 | Investing
Welcome to LifeGuide’s Market Minute, where we recap what’s happening in the markets and how we stay grounded through it all.
What we’re watching…
- The Strait of Hormuz being reopened and the outcome of the cease fire: The global stock markets have been on a strong rebound for over a week now with the hopes that the current Middle East conflict is winding down. The price of oil is falling below $100 a barrel. If negotiations are successful, it would likely mean oil prices will continue to come down and there will be less sustained inflation pressure.
- The March jobs report came in stronger than expected, with the U.S. adding about 178,000 jobs and unemployment holding steady around 4.3%.
What we ground ourselves in…
- Pullbacks are normal. Even strong years come with volatility. In 2025, for instance, when we experienced strong growth in most asset classes, markets still went through six pullbacks! On average, we see around 4–5 pullbacks per year. So far in 2026, we’ve had one. As long-term investors, we plan for pullbacks and even embrace them as “market correctors” that help control bubbles.
- Markets have endured wars before. Wars and geopolitical shocks are unpredictable and often unsettling. They can and do create real, short-term disruptions in supply chains and sentiment. But they have not historically derailed long-term market progress. The next positive headline often comes quickly, and by the time many investors might feel ready to move, markets have already begun recovering. If you wait for others to jump back in, you’re often too late.
What we’re praying…
Today, we want to echo the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi (Prayer for Peace):
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen!
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