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STORY: Wall Street’s main indexes reversed early declines to close higher on Monday, as investors digested the latest news on the war between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

The Dow and S&P 500 each climbed about six-tenths of a percent, while the Nasdaq rose roughly four-tenths.

News of the conflict sparked an oil rally due to supply concerns…. Among the S&P 500's major sectors,

energy was the biggest gainer, closing up 3.5%.

The U.S. bond market was closed for Columbus Day, also known as Indigenous Peoples' Day.

But Fed officials on Monday indicated that recent gains in yields on long-term Treasury bonds, which directly influence financing costs for households and businesses, could prevent the Fed from hiking rates again this year.

Loreen Gilbert, CEO of WealthWise Financial, says the Middle East conflict also makes rate hikes less likely.

“We now sit, between now and the end of the year, at a 25% probability of a rate hike, whereas a week ago we were at 39% probability of a rate hike between now and the end of the year. [FLASH] The Federal Reserve is going to be very cautious given that any kind of conflict that’s going on is going to have an impact on the economy, on the markets, on just the growing uncertainty.”

Many of the day’s movers were also affected by the war.

United Airlines, Delta and American Airlines closed down more than 4% each after suspending direct flights to Tel Aviv. Shares of the airlines are also hurt by rising oil prices.

And defense companies rallied, with Northrop Grumman gaining almost 11.5% and L3Harris Technologies adding nearly 10%.