The Financial Post reports in its Thursday edition that Goldman Sachs chair David Solomon expressed surprise at the "benign" market reaction to the Middle East conflict. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post reports that Mr. Solomon said, "It's very hard to speculate because there is so much that is unknown at this point." Investors are considering whether this will become a more prolonged event and start to impact consumption, he added. U.S. assurances on securing shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have helped steady nerves in markets. Still, the war has reverberated across the region, with Israel bombarding Tehran in a fresh wave of strikes. The Islamic Republic fired missiles at Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, with Doha saying targets were not limited to military interests. Mr. Solomon said: "I look at the market reaction and I'm actually surprised. The market reaction has been benign." The S&P 500 index fell less than 1 per cent across Monday and Tuesday, partly reflecting its exposure to large technology shares that have held their ground. Treasuries have fallen this week amid the inflation concerns, reducing expectations for interest-rate cuts. The dollar has strengthened, after a prolonged run of weakness.