Nicole Lapin

The spike in crude has a direct and unpleasant downstream effect for gas prices.

When refineries pay more for oil, you pay more at the pump, usually within days to weeks.

And this is on top of an already fragile economic environment.

Friday's wholesale inflation data came in at 2.9%, nearly double what economists were expecting.

So we've got war-driven energy inflation stacking on top of pre-existing inflationary pressure, and that is not a great combination.

While this is a big escalation in the Middle East, there has been a long history of conflict.

And when you look at that history, you can see patterns in the way that these investments move up,

and down in response.

Understanding these patterns and being able to react quickly is an important way to protect your portfolio.

Here's what goes up.

Defense stocks are the most obvious.

And yes, they've moved dramatically recently.

At the time I'm recording this, Lockheed Martin is up about 3% compared to last week.

Northrop Grubman is up about 6%.

The iShares U.S.

aerospace and defense ETF has already surged 14% this year before the weekend, and that number is still climbing.

Energy stocks, too, surge alongside crude oil prices.

ExxonMobil and Chevron both gained about 4% on Monday.

ConocoPhillips was up more than 5%.

If you hold energy stocks or ETFs, this week has probably been a bright spot in an otherwise nerve-wracking portfolio check.