A decisive US victory in the Iran war is far more important than market swings, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Tuesday, after weeks of Wall Street jitters sparked by the conflict.
Dimon, the head of the US’ largest lender, told “Fox & Friends” that investors will remain on edge until the war is resolved.
“Look the markets are unpredictable and it’s hard to for me to tell you exactly what,” he said when asked about the economic impact of the conflict.
“But I think they’re just looking at, is there a chance something can go wrong now?” the exec added.
His warning came as all three major US stock indexes have fallen about 7% since late February, though they were rallying Tuesday morning on news Trump had told aides that he’s willing to conclude the war without fully reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Dimon said markets have been less focused on day-to-day losses than on the risk of further escalation.
“We should all hope nothing goes wrong. We should all hope that … we win this thing and clean up the straits and that Iran is no longer a threat to everybody,” he said.
“The markets will be concerned until it’s over.”
The CEO stressed that the outcome of the conflict outweighs any short-term moves in financial markets.
“It’s much more important that this be successfully completed than what the market does,” he said.
The JPMorgan boss added that investors are watching for signs that conditions could deteriorate, rather than reacting to any single economic data point.
The comments came during a wide-ranging interview that also touched on domestic economic policy, with Dimon criticizing high taxes and regulation in blue states.
“All you have to do is look at California versus Nevada” and “New York versus Florida,” he said.
California has seen a bevy of ultra-wealthy people exit ahead of a referendum on a possible billionaires’ tax, while New York’s share of income millionaires has plummeted from a high of 12.7% of the national total in 2010 to 8.7% in 2022, according to the Empire Center, a fiscally conservative think tank.
“It’s also individual taxes, state taxes, corporate taxes, and it drives people out,” Dimon said. “There’s a huge exodus taking place.”
He pushed back on movements like the one in California to raise taxes on the wealthy. Washington State recently passed a new tax on people earning over $1 million per year.
“I don’t think just taxing someone is going to attack the flaw,” Dimon told “Fox & Friends.”
Instead, he called for policies aimed at driving economic growth, including regulatory reform, immigration changes and support for lower-income workers.
He also took aim at excessive regulation, particularly in states like New York.
“We have crippled our ability to build,” Dimon said.
At the same time, he highlighted JPMorgan’s “American Dream” initiative, aimed at expanding access to capital, housing and financial education.
“We’re going to double down on small business, affordable housing, mortgages, financial education,” he said.
Still, his message on Iran was blunt: markets may fluctuate, but the outcome of the conflict is what ultimately matters.
Until it is resolved, Dimon signaled, investors will remain on edge.
