Stocks Tread Cautiously as Investors Watch Oil Prices
The two countries exchanged new attacks amid pleas by officials from around the world to scale back hostilities. European and U.S. leaders spoke with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Sunday to try to de-escalate tensions.
Stocks in Asia and Europe were mostly higher on Monday. Futures for the S&P 500, which indicate how the index might perform when trading begins in New York, were up 0.5 percent.
Oil prices, which have had a more discernible response to the fighting, were choppy. An early rise in the price of Brent crude, the primary global benchmark, faded, with prices roughly flat in the European morning, at around $74 per barrel. Oil prices gained almost 12 percent last week.
After Israel's initial attack on Friday, and Iran's response, both countries continued to launch missiles at each other over the weekend. Israel attacked parts of Iran's energy infrastructure — including one of the world's largest natural gas fields, and an oil refinery. But the attacks had spared the Kharg Island facility, from which nearly all of Iran's oil exports are shipped.
Analysts caution that Iran could threaten oil exports out of the Persian Gulf, by choking off shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. That would severely disrupt energy markets, and could push prices sharply higher.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
10 minutes ago
- Washington Post
A record 383 aid workers were killed in global hotspots in 2024, nearly half in Gaza, UN says
UNITED NATIONS — A record 383 aid workers were killed in global hotspots in 2024, nearly half of them in Gaza during the war between Israel and Hamas, the U.N. humanitarian office said Tuesday on the annual day honoring the thousands of people who step into crises to help others.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Asia shares dip before Fed gathering; European futures up on Ukraine summit hopes
By Rocky Swift TOKYO (Reuters) -Stocks in Asia and oil prices edged lower on Tuesday before a key meeting of central bankers and as traders evaluated promising diplomatic signals toward ending hostilities between Russia and Ukraine. European equity futures posted modest gains after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said security guarantees for his nation will likely be worked out within 10 days after talks with U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders. Japan's Nikkei share gauge set a new intraday record high before heading lower. The U.S. dollar held on to gains from the previous session as traders awaited policy hints from the Federal Reserve ahead of its annual gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. "The Jackson Hole Symposium looms as one potential source of volatility, and going into the event, the markets remain cautious," Kyle Rodda, an analyst at wrote in a note to clients. "A dovish shift is being priced in, with further strength in equity markets – and weakness in the U.S. dollar – reliant on the Fed meeting these expectations." MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slid 0.2% in early trading, after U.S. stocks ended the previous session with mild losses. Pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.3%, German DAX futures rose 0.2%, and FTSE futures added 0.3%. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Fox News on Monday that Trump's meeting with Zelenskiy and other European and NATO partners was very successful. The meeting followed a summit in Alaska between the U.S. president and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, which did not result in an agreement on ceasing hostilities in the 3-1/2-year-old war. In a social media post late on Monday, Trump said he had called Putin and begun arranging a meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy, to be followed by a trilateral summit among the three presidents. While traders are keeping an eye on geopolitical developments, another key focus for the week is the Fed's August 21-23 Jackson Hole symposium, where Chair Jerome Powell is due to speak on the economic outlook and the central bank's policy framework. Money markets reflect an 83.6% chance of a quarter-point rate cut at the Fed's meeting on September 17, according to CME FedWatch. Japan's Nikkei stock index rose at the open before sliding 0.5%, dragged lower by a 5% plunge in SoftBank Group after the company announced a $2 billion stake in struggling U.S. chipmaker Intel. The dollar was little changed at 147.78 yen. The euro traded steady at $1.1658, while the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, edged up to 98.171 after a 0.2% gain in the previous session. U.S. crude dipped 0.2% to $63.29 a barrel. Spot gold was slightly higher at $3,334.9 per ounce. [GOL/] Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Hamas may have agreed to a ceasefire - but is Netanyahu ready to negotiate?
There is a sizeable gap between the ceasefire deal that Hamas has agreed to, and the demands laid down by the Israeli government. The question is whether Benjamin Netanyahu is ready to negotiate. Egyptian and Qatari mediators have been holding talks with in their latest effort to broker a ceasefire, and, according to senior diplomats, Hamas has agreed to a deal in which half the hostages held in Gaza will be freed in return for Israel releasing some Palestinian prisoners. Netanyahu has been clear that he wants all the hostages back in one go, Israeli security control of the Gaza Strip and the installation of a new government that is neither Hamas nor - crucially - the Palestinian Authority (PA). And on that point, as well as the others, a row looms. The PA, which is the governing body of the Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank, seems to have been far more closely involved in these negotiations than Hamas. The ceasefire proposal is likely to suggest that, after the removal of Hamas, Gaza would be controlled by a committee overseen by the PA. For Israel to agree that would require a significant political change of heart - not something that has been Netanyahu's speciality. Read more from Sky News: His decision now rests between competing forces. The chunk of the Israeli public that has just held a nationwide strike, calling for the war to the end. And those, including members of his cabinet, who think that Israel needs to wholly subjugate, if not entirely occupy, Gaza in order to either maintain its safety or fulfil its historic destiny.
