Stock Futures Rebounding. Iran-Israel Strikes Keep Markets on Alert as Oil, Fed Worries Remain.

Stock futures were staging an early comeback Monday after sharp declines on Friday.

As the conflict between Israel and Iran shows no signs of cooling, any recovery in stocks will likely be fragile. Over the weekend, Israel attacked command centers of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and some oil facilities, and Iran’s retaliatory strikes early Monday killed four.

The problem for investors is trying to gauge how prolonged and serious the fighting will be. Further escalation, as well as the direct involvement of the U.S. in the fighting, could be bad for the market, but flare-ups have blown over relatively quickly in the past. While stocks were rising and the safe-haven asset gold pulled back from a record high, oil prices were continuing to rise.