The S&P 500 Index and VOO, its biggest exchange-traded fund, plunged for three consecutive days, reaching its lowest level since November last year. 

The blue-chip index, which tracks the biggest companies in the United States, dropped to $6,637, down by over 5.2% from its highest point this year.

This retreat happened as the crisis in the Middle East escalated, pushing crude oil prices to the highest point in years. Brent and the West Texas Intermediate rose to over $115 before paring back the gains.

The rising crude oil prices pushed US bond yields higher, with the 10-year rising to 4.17% and the 30-year hitting 4.766%. This surge is a sign that market participants expects the Federal Reserve to maintain a hawkish tone this year.

JPMorgan predicts a S&P 500 Index crash 

Wall Street analysts are getting antsy about the market. In a research note, analysts at JPMorgan predicted that the index will move into a correction if the war continues. 

Dropping into a correction, which is defined as a 10% drop from its peak, will push it to $6,300, its lowest level since August last year.

However, the analyst noted that signs of an off-ramp on the war in Iran will invalidate the bearish outlook. He noted:

“A definitive off-ramp to the conflict will end this tactical call as the underlying macro fundamentals remain supportive of risk-assets.”

Similarly, Yardeni, a top research company, boosted its odds of a market meltdown to 35% from the previous 20%.

Still, as we wrote earlier, there is a possibility that the S&P 500 and VOO stock will bounce back as President Donald Trump often pays close attention to the stock market and inflation. As such, there is a possibility that he will start to capitulate soon.

Looking ahead, the S&P 500 Index will react to the upcoming US consumer inflation report, which will come out on Wednesday. 

Economists expect the report to show that the headline Consumer Price Index rose to 2.5% in February. A higher inflation than that, coupled with the rising oil prices, may also push Trump to capitulate on his war.

The index will also react to the upcoming Oracle earnings, which will come out on Tuesday. Oracle has become a major player in the artificial intelligence industry thanks to its huge backlog.

Aon, one of the world’s largest insurance brokers, is testing the use of stablecoins to pay insurance premiums, highlighting the growing role of digital dollars in traditional financial infrastructure following the passage of the GENIUS bill last year. 

In a Monday announcement, UK-based Aon said it completed a pilot that settled insurance premiums for clients, including Coinbase and Paxos, using USDC (USDC) on Ethereum and PayPal USD (PYUSD) on Solana.

Tim Fletcher, CEO of Aon’s financial services division, said the pilot reflects the company’s effort to explore stablecoins as a payment rail, predicting that tokenized assets will become more widely used in financial transactions.

Aon said in August that its analysis showed 120 re-insurers wrote nearly $2 trillion of gross written premium in 2024.

Instead of sending funds through traditional bank wires, the premiums were paid using stablecoins on blockchain networks. The pilot demonstrates how financial institutions are experimenting with blockchain settlement systems rather than relying solely on conventional payment infrastructure.

The approach could have implications for the insurance industry, where premium payments typically move through banks, clearing systems and international wire transfers — processes that can take several days, particularly for cross-border transactions. Stablecoin transfers can settle within minutes.

The pilot did not involve a new insurance product or an onchain policy. The underlying insurance coverage remained unchanged, with the only difference being the use of stablecoins to settle the premium payments.

Related: SoFi taps BitGo to provide infrastructure for bank-issued stablecoin

Stablecoins gain traction among financial institutions

Aon’s pilot also comes amid a more supportive regulatory backdrop for stablecoins following the passage of the GENIUS Act, which established a federal framework for issuing and supervising dollar-backed stablecoins in the United States.

The development reflects a broader shift as traditional financial institutions increasingly explore stablecoins for payments and settlement infrastructure. Several major banks, including Barclays, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup, are either confirmed or reported to be in various stages of developing stablecoin or tokenized payment systems.

At the same time, crypto-native companies are expanding into the stablecoin payments stack. For example, Ripple has been building infrastructure aimed at supporting stablecoin custody, settlement and treasury management for institutions.

Related: US regulator mulls guidance for tokenized deposit insurance, stablecoins