Stocks slide, oil and gold jump after Israel strikes Iran
TOKYO: Stocks dived in early Asian trade on Friday, led by a selloff in US futures, while oil prices jumped after Israel conducted a military strike on Iran, sending investors scurrying to safe havens such as gold and the Swiss franc.
The Israeli attack raises the risk of a fresh escalation in tensions in the Middle East, a major oil producing region, and comes at a time of heightened pressure on the global economy and financial markets from US President Donald Trump's shakeup of trade policies.
Market reaction was swift, with US S&P E-mini futures slumping 1.5 per cent as of 0055 GMT and Nasdaq futures skidding 1.7 per cent.
Japan's Nikkei lost 1.4 per cent and South Korea's KOSPI slipped 1.2 per cent.
Brent crude jumped more than 6 per cent to US$73.56 per barrel. Gold climbed 1 per cent to about US$3,419 per ounce.
Israel said it was declaring a state of emergency in anticipation of a missile and drone strike by Tehran, after what it called a "preemptive strike" over Iran's nuclear programme.
Explosions were heard northeast of Iran's capital Tehran early on Friday, the state-run Nour News said.
Two US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said Israel had begun carrying out strikes on Iran and there was no US assistance or involvement in the operation. CNN reported that Trump was convening a cabinet meeting.
"Traders are scurrying for safety as reports of a strike on Iran cross the wires," said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay in Toronto.
"But details on the scale and magnitude of the attack remain scarce and moves have been relatively limited thus far."
Tensions had been building as Trump's efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran appear to be deadlocked. US and Iranian officials were scheduled to hold a sixth round of talks on Tehran's escalating uranium enrichment programme in Oman on Sunday, according to officials from both countries and their Omani mediators.
The Swiss franc gained about 0.4 per cent to 0.8072 per US dollar, and fellow safe haven the yen appreciated 0.3 per cent to 143.06 per dollar.
The euro eased 0.3 per cent to US$1.1553, giving back a little of its 0.9 per cent overnight jump.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Italy urges Israel, Iran to avoid conflict escalation, return to talks
ROME, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Friday urged Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran to avoid further conflict escalation and return to negotiations. Tajani's appeal followed a series of Israeli airstrikes overnight targeting multiple sites in Iran, including a nuclear facility, military installations, and senior military officials. In a morning phone call with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, Tajani "reiterated the need for an immediate return to negotiations," according to a statement from his office. He also reaffirmed the Italian government's stance that halting Israel's military operations in Gaza is "an absolute priority, given the unacceptable toll being inflicted on the Palestinian civilian population." In a subsequent conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Tajani urged Tehran to exercise restraint and avoid military escalation, warning that any further deterioration could threaten the stability of the entire Middle East. "We must urgently return to negotiations and to the path of diplomacy," Tajani said. The Italian minister added that he would remain in close contact with officials from the United States, Oman, and Israel in an effort to "keep diplomatic channels open for the exchange of messages." According to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the airstrikes were a "preemptive, precise, and combined" operation targeting dozens of military facilities across Iran, including sites linked to its nuclear program. Iranian authorities condemned the strikes as a "blatant act of aggression." Supreme leader Ali Khamenei described the attack as a crime against Iran and "a declaration of war," vowing that it would be met with severe retaliation.
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
U.S. Army parade to be staged in D.C. as "No Kings" rallies planned nationwide
NEW YORK, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of marching soldiers, dozens of helicopters flying overhead, and hundreds of military vehicles, including at least 28 tanks will all parade through the heart of Washington, D.C. for a celebration honoring the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army on Saturday, also President Donald Trump's 79th birthday. "It is expected to be the largest military parade in the nation's capital since the end of the first Gulf War in 1991 and will be part of a day-long extravaganza on the National Mall that will include musical performances, parachutists and fireworks," reported The Washington Post on Friday. There also will be street closures, heightened security and protests. According to the Pentagon, about 150 ground vehicles, 6,600 soldiers and 50 aircraft will appear in the parade, grouped to represent each major era of the Army's history. The parade route runs along Constitution Avenue NW, beginning at 23rd Street near the Lincoln Memorial and finishing about a mile down the road, at 15th Street near the Washington Monument. The parade involves thousands of soldiers in historic and modern uniforms, dozens of Army vehicles including Abrams tanks, a flyover and a parachute jump, according to the report. However, also on Saturday, more than 1,600 rallies are planned across all 50 U.S. states as part of the No Kings movement organized by a coalition of organizations calling for a "nationwide day of defiance." There are No Kings events in Virginia and Maryland, but not in D.C.
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
How crucial is immigration for the US hotel industry?
The Marriott logo is seen at the New York Marriott Marquis at Times Square in New York, U.S., February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) -A U.S. crackdown on foreign-born workers could spell trouble for the hotel and hospitality industry, which has lobbied for years to expand the pathways for immigration to the United States to help fill over 1 million job vacancies. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would issue an immigration order soon, following a social media post in which he cited labor issues in the farm and hotel industries stemming from his immigration crackdown. But on Friday, the Washington Post reported that no such policy changes were under way, according to three people with knowledge of the administration's immigration policies. IMMIGRATION AND HOSPITALITY In 2024, travel supported the jobs of 15 million U.S. workers and directly employed 8 million, with approximately one-third of those workers immigrants, according to the U.S. Travel Association and American Hotel and Lodging Association. There are about 1 million job openings in 2025. Hotels and resorts have struggled to find enough Americans willing to work hospitality jobs, including seasonal or temporary jobs at ski resorts and amusement parks. The leisure and hospitality industries have quit rates higher than all other industries. The accommodation and food services subsector has experienced a quit rate consistently around or above 4% since July 2022, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. About 71% of the hotels that had job openings were unable to fill them despite active searches, according to a 2024 survey conducted by AHLAand Hireology, an employee management platform. LOBBYING EFFORTS U.S. Travel and AHLA have lobbied Congress for broader pathways for legal immigration in an effort to close these gaps. The industry's priority was to push for expanding the H-2B visa program, which was capped at 66,000 visas a year, to bring more seasonal workers to the United States. In March 2024, then-President Joe Biden signed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, which authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to increase the number of H-2B temporary nonagricultural workers if the agency determines there are not enough American workers "willing, qualified, and able to perform temporary nonagricultural labor." DHS and the Department of Labor in December published a joint temporary final rule increasing the limit on H-2B non-immigrant visas for fiscal year 2025. The industry also supported legislation that looked to make it easier for temporary workers to return to the U.S. and allow people seeking asylum to work as soon as 30 days after applying for asylum. EXECUTIVE AND UNION VIEWS Industry executives, including those from Marriott and Hilton, have talked about the need for practical immigration solutions for years. "One of the most important issues in our industry for time and eternity has been workforce ... and the need for comprehensive immigration reform," Hilton Worldwide CEO Chris Nassetta said at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit in January, according to a report by Travel Weekly. Labor union Unite HERE, which represents thousands of workers in U.S. hotels, casinos, and airports, a majority of whom are immigrants, said the union will continue to fight "the increasingly arbitrary rules" about who can and cannot live and travel to the United States. The Culinary Workers Union, which represents hospitality workers in Las Vegas, rallied against escalating Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Nevada and pushed back against claims the Trump administration was only responding to people breaking the law. (Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; additional reporting by Aishwarya Jain in Bengaluru; editing by Rod Nickel)
