Good morning, traders…

The market (and the world) just changed overnight. 

Your trading approach needs to shift with them.

Over the weekend, the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the initial assault. 

Iran responded by launching over 700 missiles and drones targeting Israeli and American military bases across the Middle East.

As of Monday morning, at least 555 people have been killed in Iran, 10 in Israel, 4 U.S. soldiers, and 5 in Gulf states. President Trump announced the strikes would continue throughout the week. Iran declared 40 days of mourning and launched fresh waves of retaliatory attacks. The conflict is escalating.

War is tragic. The human cost is devastating.

But as traders, we have a job:

To trade the market we have, not the market we want.

Global conflict creates volatility. 

And volatility creates opportunity…

Focus #1: Energy and Defense

When geopolitical risk spikes, capital moves into different sectors. 

Oil jumped immediately on supply disruption fears. Iran controls critical shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz. Any escalation there threatens global oil supply.

Defense contractors rally when military operations intensify. Governments increase spending. Existing Pentagon contracts accelerate. 

Gold and commodities move higher as traders rotate out of risk assets and into safe havens.

But there are a lot of names in those sectors. How do you pick?

Watch which energy, defense, and commodity names are catching Smart Money flow on my OMEN Scanner. 

If the options are getting Smart Money interest, there’s a reason…

Focus #2: Names With No Iran Exposure

You don’t have to make conflict-adjacent trades to see gains from this rotation.

There’s also opportunity in names with no connection to the Middle East. 

Netflix is a perfect example. Streaming subscriptions don’t depend on Iranian oil supply or U.S. military operations. The business couldn’t be less correlated. 

Plus, the company just caught a massive catalyst. The Warner Bros. Discovery bidding war is falling apart, and investors are celebrating. 

The stock rallied 13%+ last Friday after Netflix walked away from the $82.7 billion acquisition. (Traders hated that deal from the start.)

That’s why I bought NFLX March 6 $100 calls yesterday. 

It’s a stock with no connection to these strikes, massive option volume, and an undeniably bullish catalyst. 

That setup can work regardless of what happens in the Middle East.

Focus #3: Shorter Timeframes, Smaller Position Sizes

When the market is this uncertain (and the moves are this volatile), oversizing positions gives you zero benefits.

It’s much better to trade smaller sizes on shorter timeframes and take profits quickly. 

I’m not holding multi-week swings, or betting on how this conflict resolves…

I’m trading the volatility it creates.

Shorter expirations. Tighter stops. Faster exits.

If you get stopped out, reassess and move on. 

If a trade works, take profits while you have them. Don’t get greedy waiting for the next leg. 

Nobody knows where this goes. 

I’m staying flexible. I’m watching volume. I’m following Smart Money flow. And I’m not married to any position.

Trade what’s in front of you. 

Happy trading, 

Ben Sturgill

*Past performance does not indicate future results