ALBAWABA – Investors traded in a mixed bag of stocks worldwide, with Wall Street rebounding on Monday and European stocks sliding, as oil prices surged on concerns over the ongoing Gaza offensive against Israeli occupation targets.
United States (US) stocks dipped at first, on the breakout of the Al-Aqsa Flood operation, but soon picked up, whereas oil eased later on Monday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
All three major US stock indexes finished the trading day firmly in the green, while Benchmark oil contracts Brent and WTI jumped more than five percent earlier on Monday.
Brent crude eased to $0.3 to $87.85 a barrel by Tuesday, as reported by Reuters, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude eased $0.31 to $86.07 a barrel.
According to Bloomberg, the attack launched by Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, threatens to drag both the US and Iran into the war, which could severely disrupt oil and energy markets.
Stocks worldwide are affected by security concerns in major regional equity markets as well as radically fluctuating oil prices - Shutterstock
Shares of key US defense manufacturers surged, with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman Corp closing up 8.9 percent and 11.4 percent respectively, as per AFP.
Stocks worldwide suffer implications of escalating crisis as traders turn to safe havens
The escalating crisis in occupied Palestine sent shockwaves through global equity markets, even as energy companies were boosted by higher oil prices, bolstering their profits and revenues.
The dollar, yen and Swiss franc, as well as gold, won strong support as they benefited from investors turning to safe havens in times of heightened geopolitical turmoil, according to AFP.
"The surprise attack by Hamas has fueled concerns about further instability in the Middle East which could in turn disrupt oil flows at a time when the market is already extremely tight and prices are high," Craig Erlam, senior market analyst with OANDA, told AFP.
Markets are showing an overall aversion to risk, right now.
With markets now in "risk off" mode, "investors are worried that the retaliation by Israel is going to be -– as it has already – severe and will raise the tensions between Israel and many other countries around the region, including, of course, Iran," StoneX analyst Fawad Razaqzada told AFP.
While equity markets in France and Germany fell, London equities were aided by gains for British-headquartered oil giants BP and Shell.
Stocks worldwide: Market summary by AFP
New York - Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 33,604.65 points (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.6 percent at 4,335.66 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.4 percent at 13,484.24 (close)
London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 7,492.21 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.7 percent at 15,128.11 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 7,021.40 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.8 percent at 4,112.57 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 17,517.40 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,096.92 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0569 from $1.0586 on Friday
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 148.53 yen from 149.32 yen
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2235 from $1.2237
Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.35 pence from 86.50 pence
