Financial markets were briefly rattled by the U. Dow futures initially plunged over points when news of the strike broke but they rapidly recovered. Wall Street calmed down on Friday morning and focus returned to the U. But the initial risk-off reaction shows how everyone, including investors, was caught off guard by the sudden military action.

Investors may have grown accustomed to drawn out deliberations about possible military action under a war-weary President Obama. By contrast, Trump acted swiftly in response to the graphic images of innocent Syrians hit by a chemical attack on Tuesday that U. Trump has repeatedly vowed to catch adversaries off guard by acting with little warning -- and he kept that promise with a very quick action on Syria.

Veteran ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz called the attack "the single fastest punishing strike I have ever seen" on air Thursday evening.

Russian markets fall after U. Of course, Trump's unpredictability also gives Wall Street little time to prepare for conflict, even when it involves a government backed by nuclear-armed Russia. Nervousness was especially evident in Russian markets.

Russian markets slump after Syria strike. Still, all of this raises the stakes when it comes to other geopolitical headaches, especially North Korea. The Trump administration has ramped up its rhetoric towards North Korea in recent days, threatening to take unilateral action if China doesn't help contain the nuclear threat posed by Kim Jong Un.

Those words have to be taken even more seriously following the airstrike on Syria.

But investors have shown little concern thus far about the risk of a conflict with North Korea, its massive military, and its unpredictable head of state.

Despite the geopolitical uncertainty, not to mention the question marks surrounding the domestic political agenda , U. Kotok, chief investment officer at Cumberland Advisors, said his firm increased its cash reserves as a result of the Syria strike. But "one can act on early signs or discernible trends.

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The Real Reason for War in Syria: Pipeline Control - Equedia Investment Research

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