Asian stocks slide, oil and gold jump after Israel strikes Iran
Stocks dived in early Asian trade on Friday, led by a selloff in U.S. 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.
ADVERTISEMENT 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 U.S. President Donald Trump's shakeup of trade policies.
Market reaction was swift, with U.S. S&P E-mini futures slumping 1.5% as of 0055 GMT and Nasdaq futures skidding 1.7%.
Japan's Nikkei lost 1.4% and South Korea's KOSPI slipped 1.2%.Brent crude jumped more than 6% to $73.56 per barrel. Gold climbed 1% to about $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.
ADVERTISEMENT Explosions were heard northeast of Iran's capital Tehran early on Friday, the state-run Nour News said.Two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said Israel had begun carrying out strikes on Iran and there was no U.S. assistance or involvement in the operation. CNN reported that Trump was convening a cabinet meeting.
ADVERTISEMENT "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."
ADVERTISEMENT Tensions had been building as Trump's efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran appear to be deadlocked. U.S. 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% to 0.8072 per U.S. dollar, and fellow safe haven the yen appreciated 0.3% to 143.06 per dollar.
ADVERTISEMENT The euro eased 0.3% to $1.1553, giving back a little of its 0.9% overnight jump.
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Indian Express
14 minutes ago
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NDTV
21 minutes ago
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As Israel prepared to launch airstrikes on Iran as part of its Operation Lion, there was frantic activity on the nights of June 12 and 13 thousands of miles away at pizza outlets in Arlington, Virginia. What's the connection, you ask? Most of these fast-food chains that reported unusually high activity and sales were located near the Pentagon, the US military headquarters. The spike in pizza orders near the Pentagon and the US Department of Defence has, on multiple occasions in the past, accurately predicted global crises, according to a report in The Economic Times. An X account, Pentagon Pizza Index, now records and reports the activity on a regular basis, often indicating what's brewing in international politics. On Friday, roughly an hour before the first reports of Israeli strikes on Iran came in, pizza orders around the Pentagon spiked. 'As of 6:59 pm ET nearly all pizza establishments nearby the Pentagon have experienced a HUGE surge in activity,' Pentagon Pizza Report posted on Thursday. As of 6:59pm ET nearly all pizza establishments nearby the Pentagon have experienced a HUGE surge in activity. — Pentagon Pizza Report (@PenPizzaReport) June 12, 2025 On June 13, there were similar reports. "With about an hour left before close, the 2nd closest Dominos to the Pentagon (about 8 min drive) is experiencing EXTREMELY high levels of traffic compared to a normal Thursday at about 11:00 pm ET," the account posted. With 30 min to close, this Dominos continues to experience extremely high traffic. Freddie's Beach Bar, however, has jumped back up to average levels of activity. — Pentagon Pizza Report (@PenPizzaReport) June 13, 2025 Cold War It all started during the Cold War when the Soviet operatives noticed the pizza delivery activity in Washington and reported to their bosses in Moscow if America was preparing for something big. On August 1, 1990, a Domino's franchisee in Washington reported a massive surge in pizza deliveries to the CIA buildings. On August 2, Saddam Hussein's Iraq invaded Kuwait. A similar pattern was noticed ahead of Operation Desert Storm in 1991, The Guardian reported. Over the years, the theory remained in place and has now made its way to social media. The Pentagon Pizza Index, among some of the other pages, used open-source intelligence (OSINT) tools, including Google Maps and real-time restaurant activity. Iran Hits Back On Friday night and Saturday morning, Iran struck back at Israel's largest cities - Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Air raid sirens were heard and people ran to seek cover in bomb shelters as Israeli defence systems intercepted Iranian missiles in the sky. The Iranian retaliation came after Israel targeted the Islamic Republic's military and nuclear installations and killed multiple high-ranking military officials, including Hossein Salami, the chief of the Revolutionary Guards.
