On Monday, there was increased concern over the rising bloodshed in Gaza and the possibility that the battle may involve more than just Israel and Hamas and expand throughout the region. Crude oil stayed over $90 a barrel, stocks declined, and the safe-haven currency was strong.
After Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to “demolish Hamas” in punishment for the Oct. 7 rampage that resulted in 1,300 deaths in the bloodiest attack on civilians in Israeli history, the shekel fell to a more than eight-year low.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the area to try to stop the situation from worsening. After consulting with Vice President Joe Biden, Netanyahu decided to end the restriction on water deliveries to some areas of southern Gaza.
Following Friday’s 5.7% increase, Brent oil futures rose to a recent high of $91.20 on Monday before trading little changed slightly below that level.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong declined 0.43%, the Nikkei share average in Japan (.N225) plunged as much as 2%, and mainland blue chips (.CSI300) fell 0.69%. New Zealand’s stock benchmark (.NZ50) fell nearly 1%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index (.AXJO) dropped by 0.35%.
Although U.S. stock futures indicated 0.2% higher on Monday, the pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) shed over 1% on Friday, and New York’s S&P 500 (.SPX) fell 0.5%.
Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, noted in a note that “the situation is dynamic and it’s too early to say if the hedges placed on Friday are unwarranted, but there have been pockets of positive news flow,” mentioning the restart of water supply as one example.
“Risk and energy markets will look for headlines and actions from Iranian officials who have stated they have a duty to come to the aid of the Palestinians.”
The U.S. dollar index slipped slightly to 106.51 from a high of 106.79 on Friday, as currencies generally reversed some of their movements from the end of the week. The yen hardly moved at 149.445 per dollar, while the euro increased by 0.14% to $1.05255.
For the first time since April 2015, the shekel of Israel fell to 3.9900 to the dollar early in the trading session, although it has since recovered by around 0.3% to 3.9650. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rates increased by a small amount to 4.6581% after falling by more than eight basis points on Friday as investors sought out the security of bonds.
Gold lost nearly $12 of its $63 gain on Friday, falling 0.6% to $1,919.29 for an ounce.
The dangers associated with the (Gaza) war are ultimately best expressed by gold and oil prices, according to Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com.
But “identifying the potential flashpoints and gaming-out scenarios is highly challenging,” Rodda stated.
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