China, Hong Kong stocks end lower as Israeli strikes on Iran weigh on risk assets
Mainland China and Hong Kong stocks slipped on Friday, mirroring losses across regional markets, as investors rushed toward safe-haven assets in response to Israeli strikes on Iran that escalated tensions in the Middle East.
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Mainland China and Hong Kong stocks slipped on Friday, mirroring losses across regional markets, as investors rushed toward safe-haven assets in response to Israeli strikes on Iran that escalated tensions in the Middle East.Israel launched strikes against Iran on Friday, saying it targeted nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders during the start of a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon.** At the close, the Shanghai Composite index ended 0.75% lower at 3,377.00 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index dropped 0.72% to 3,864.18 points.** The smaller Shenzhen index ended down 1.32% and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was weaker by 1.13%.** In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng index dropped 0.59% to 23,892.56 points, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 0.85% to 8,655.33 points.** However, the risk-off sentiment lifted gold and miners' shares , with key performers including Western Region Gold Co , Shandong Gold Mining Co, and Zhongjin Gold Corp all closing more than 2% higher.** China's defense sub-index closed up 1.7%.** Oil and gas shares were another outperformer, with a sub-index jumping 2.02%.** Safe-haven demand for the U.S. dollar also pressured the yuan, with the onshore spot price weakening 0.14% to 7.1815 per dollar around 0800 GMT.* Major Chinese stock indexes appeared poised for a weekly decline, despite the recent trade truce between Washington and Beijing easing the risk of further tariff escalation in the near term.** "While geopolitical tensions (between the United States and China) may have temporarily deescalated, China's macroeconomic outlook remains fragile," BCA Research said in a note."As a result, without a decisive policy boost, Chinese equities lack any catalyst to trend higher."** Both the SSEC and CSI300 indexes fell 0.25% for the week, booking their third weekly loss in four weeks.
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Business Standard
32 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Iran launches hundreds of ballistic missiles on Israel as conflict widens
Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles against Israel following an unprecedented direct attack on its nuclear facilities, ramping up a conflict between sworn enemies that threatens to engulf the Middle East and disrupt global oil supplies. Multiple waves of missiles targeting Israeli cities amount to the most forceful step yet by Tehran since Israel's overnight raids killed top Iranian generals and badly damaged key military infrastructure. Israel said it identified missiles launched from the Islamic Republic and reported explosions from interceptions and falling debris from incoming projectiles. There was dramatic video footage of at least one large explosion in Tel Aviv, and reports of explosions over Jerusalem. The extent to which Israel's air defenses were pierced remains to be seen, with US forces helping to intercept and shoot down Iranian attacks. Markets took another hit from the surge in tensions: The S&P 500 lost over 1 per cent, wiping out this week's advance. West Texas Intermediate crude futures surged more than 7 per cent, the most since March 2022. Gold and the dollar rose. When the pair targeted each other last year, there was a greater time lag and a sense that after an exchange of fire, there would be a détente. This time, Israel has indicated this is an operation that could last weeks. This poses an existential problem for Iran, and a question of whether it can match its fiery rhetoric with actions. Israel has dramatically exposed its weaknesses, decimated its proxies and taken out key leaders. Additional escalations — particularly any targeting of American military or diplomatic facilities in the region — could rally domestic political support, but could dramatically intensify the conflict. It was unclear if Tehran was entertaining last-resort options such as blocking the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most vital oil arteries, in a scenario that investors fear the most. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to 'act forcefully' in a pre-recorded video message carried by state TV. His statement was released after Iran started its retaliation. Unlike previous responses, this one came much faster. Given Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has followed through on his long-promised threat to dismantle Iran's nuclear program, Iran was feeling the pressure to find a commensurate answer. So far, Israel has chosen to keep the US out of the conflict — a decision that an analysis by Bloomberg Economics suggested was the most likely since Tehran can't afford to go to war with the world's biggest economy and mightiest military. The backdrop are indirect nuclear talks between the Islamic Republic and the US, with a sixth round of negotiations scheduled to take place on Sunday. But the damage to its standing in the region is real. The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, and the military's chief of staff, Mohammad Bagheri, were both killed in Israeli strikes. At least two other senior IRGC members also died and several nuclear facilities were targeted. Iran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that Israel struck the nuclear sites at Fordow and Isfahan as part of its wave of attacks in the last 24 hours, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi told the UN Security Council on Friday. Grossi said the IAEA doesn't have information beyond indications that military activity took place around those facilities. But the move is important — if the facility at Isfahan is disabled, it would seriously crimp Iran's ability to enrich uranium in large volumes. Israel 'should not think that it is over. We won't allow them to escape unscathed from this great crime they have committed,' Khamenei said. But the Iranian supreme leader's terse statement shows Iran is probably not prepared to make any concessions. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday's attacks have derailed diplomacy. Meanwhile, with the Group of Seven leaders gathering in the Canadian Rockies, the attention will focus on how US President Donald Trump will react — or not. Going into the summit, there was a common desire to keep fraught geopolitical issues off the table but that will be difficult to do given the knock-on effects of a spike in oil prices on inflation and energy exports. Given the region is such a big crossroads for shipping of not just oil but consumer goods, any all-out war will further strain a global trading system disrupted by the trade wars. For his part, Trump gave brief telephone interviews to a smattering of journalists, particularly those from cable news networks, but otherwise didn't take to the cameras to make public remarks. The White House said Trump was not expected to emerge Friday night, though he could always turn to social media or additional interviews with the media. On Saturday, Trump's 79th birthday, he's scheduled to host a military parade ostensibly to celebrate the US Army's 250th year. He took to social media to warn Iran to make a deal 'before it is too late.' Come Saturday, the extent of the damage on both sides will come into focus. Israel said more than 200 aircraft participated in the operation that targeted around 100 locations across Iran. At least 95 people were wounded and several residential buildings in Tehran's suburbs were hit, according to Iranian media. Iran's ambassador to the United Nations said 78 people were killed in the attacks. One woman was killed in the Tel Aviv area, a police spokesman in Israel said. Netanyahu and Trump spoke by phone Friday to discuss the conflict, according to a White House official. The US has said it did not play a role in Israel's initial volley, and warned Iran against retaliation against American service members. The US role assisting Israel's aerial defense is customary, but what it does next will be critical.
Mint
44 minutes ago
- Mint
US stock market ends lower as Israel-Iran conflict escalates; Dow Jones, Nasdaq cracks over 1%; defence stocks rally
US stock market ended sharply lower on Friday, led by losses in financials and information technology stocks, after conflict in the Middle East escalated as Iran launched counterstrikes at Israel. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.79% to 42,197.79, while the S&P 500 declined 1.13% to end at 5,976.97. The Nasdaq closed 1.30% lower at 19,406.83. Ten of the eleven S&P 500 sector indices closed lower, with financials leading the decline, falling 2.06%, followed by a 1.5% drop in the information technology sector. Declining stocks outnumbered advancers on the S&P 500 by a ratio of 6.1 to 1. For the week, the Dow Jones fell 1.3%, the S&P 500 dipped 0.4% and the Nasdaq lost 0.6%. Investor sentiment took a hit after multiple explosions were reported over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, with sirens sounding across Israel following missile launches from Iran. The development followed Israeli strikes on nuclear facilities and missile factories in Iran, marking a sharp escalation in Middle East tensions. The US dollar index rose about 0.5% to 98.16, while US 10-year Treasury yields rose 5.6 basis points to 4.413%, as markets absorbed a sudden shock to commodity and stock prices. Meanwhile, crude oil prices jumped 7%, feeding investor worries over a wider disruption in oil supplies. Nvidia share price declined 2.1%, Apple stock price lost 1.4%, while Visa and Mastercard shares fell more than 4% each. Adobe shares fell 5.3%, Oracle shares jumped 7.7% to a record high, US defense stocks rallied, with Lockheed Martin, RTX Corporation and Northrop Grumman all gaining over 3%. Airline stocks fell amid rising fuel costs. Delta Air Lines share price declined 3.8%, United Airlines stock price plunged 4.4% and American Airlines shares dropped 4.9%. US energy stocks rose, with Exxon share price gaining 2.2% and Diamondback Energy shares rallying 3.7%. (With inputs from Reuters) Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.h
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Israel Targets Iran's Nuclear Sites, Kills Top Generals
Live Events Israel launched strikes across Iran on Friday morning , targeting nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders in a major escalation against its chief adversary that risks sparking a broad war in the West strikes were far more extensive than those Israel carried out against Iran last President Donald Trump urged Iran to accept a nuclear deal with Washington to avoid further attacks, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed would probably happen over the coming days as Israel looks to deal a severe blow to Tehran's nuclear programme. Tehran must make a deal 'before it is too late,' he said it struck around 100 targets across Iranian cities on Friday morning, using 200 fighter attacks caused oil to surge as much as 13%, though it later pared its gains, and investors to buy havens such as gold and US were heard across Tehran, Natanz—home to a key atomic site—and other cities, according to local and social media. Netanyahu said Israel 'struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear-enrichment programme.'The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, and the military's chief of staff, Mohammad Bagheri, were both killed, according to Iranian media. At least two other senior IRGC members also quickly responded by calling the attack 'a declaration of war" and sending a wave of drones toward Israel, though it was unclear if they caused any damage. Some were intercepted over Friday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they carried out more attacks against targets in Israel in retaliation for the latter's biggest attacks ever against responders said 7 people were injured in central Israel after an Iran missile state TV said at least one Israeli fighter jet was downed by air defence and its pilot expects Iran to retaliate with more drone strikes and also by firing ballistic missiles, according to a military official speaking on condition of evening fell on Friday, Iranian media reported explosions on the northern and southern outskirts of Tehran and at Fordow, near the holy city of Qom, a second nuclear site which had been spared in the first wave of attacks. 'The risk of this conflict expanding is real,' said Bilal Bassiouni, head of risk forecasting at advisory firm Pangea-Risk. 'Iran is under intense pressure to respond beyond drones, and a strike on Israeli military or strategic infrastructure, including energy or nuclear-linked facilities, is plausible.' The UN's atomic watchdog said there were no indications of increased radiation levels at Iran's main uranium-enrichment site of Natanz, an early sign the strikes haven't penetrated the layers of steel and concrete protecting the Islamic Republic's nuclear in the region condemned Israel's attack, while leaders around the globe called for immediate de-escalation from both sides. The Israeli Air Force said the Natanz strike hit an underground multi-story chamber with centrifuges and other infrastructure, causing 'significant damage'.Netanyahu said the strikes 'will continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.' Israel's UN ambassador said it was possible that the operation takes nuclear facilities, the initial phase of the strikes targeted Iran's air defenses and missile-production media said at least 95 people were wounded and that several residential buildings in the capital's suburbs were hit. Iran hasn't yet released an official death said Friday's strikes were 'very successful,' adding that Israelis would need to prepare for a retaliation and prepare to spend long periods in Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel will 'pay a very heavy price' and should 'expect a severe response from Iran's armed forces'. While Trump said he knew about Israel's operations in advance, it's unclear if he had much notice. As recently as Thursday he'd suggested he was against strikes, saying his administration remained 'committed to a Diplomatic Resolution to the Iran Nuclear Issue!Yet speaking to an ABC reporter on Friday, he said Israel's attack had 'been excellent'. 'We gave them a chance and they didn't take it,' Trump said of Iran and its nuclear talks with the US. 'They got hit about as hard as you're going to get hit. And there's more to come.'The US was 'not involved' in Israel's strikes, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. He warned Iran against targeting US interests or personnel in US and Iran were meant to meet for their next round of nuclear talks on Sunday in Oman. It's unclear if those negotiations will still happen. Oman's government — in the first comments from a Gulf state — said Israel's actions were reckless and would undermine regional Arab states echoed those comments, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and UK's Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged 'all parties to step back and reduce tensions urgently' and said 'escalation serves no one in the region'.Regional crisisThe attacks risk plunging the Middle East — which has been mired in various conflicts since militant group Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza in October 2023 — even deeper into crisis and hitting the global countries closed their airspace, including Israel, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Jordan. That's forcing airlines to fly longer routes, adding to fuel costs and disrupting schedules.'Risks are high this will escalate into a broader regional conflict,' say Bloomberg Economics analysts including Jennifer Welch, Adam Farrar and Tom Orlik. The clearest hit to the global economy will come via higher energy prices, they said.'Israel's alarming decision to launch airstrikes on Iran is a reckless escalation that risks igniting regional violence,' Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement. He said Trump and other nations need to push for 'diplomatic de-escalation before this crisis spirals further out of control.'Republican politicians refrained from criticising Israel and largely said the country was provoked by Defense Minister Israel Katz said it was a 'preemptive strike,' with the country's officials saying they had evidence Iran was planning an has repeatedly insisted that its atomic activities are for peaceful, civilian purposes only. But it has significantly expanded uranium enrichment since 2019 — a response to Trump's withdrawal the year before from a 2015 nuclear deal signed under Barack Obama's administration.
