A woman walks past a man examining an electronic board showing Japan’s Nikkei average and stock prices outside a brokerage firm, in Tokyo, Japan, March 20, 2023. Portal/Androniki Christodoulou/File Photo ACKNOWLEDGE RIGHTS
TOKYO, Oct 16 (Portal) – Crude oil remained above $90 a barrel, stocks fell and the safe-haven dollar held steady on Monday, as concerns about escalating violence in Gaza and the prospect that The conflict could spread beyond Israel and Hamas to the wider world, have increased in the region.
The Israeli shekel sank to a more than eight-year low after the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to destroy Hamas in retaliation for the Oct. 7 shooting rampage that killed 1,300 people in the worst attack on civilians in history of Israel were killed.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting the region to prevent further escalation. Netanyahu agreed to lift the blockade on water supplies in parts of the southern Gaza Strip after talks with US President Joe Biden.
Brent crude oil futures hit a recent high of $91.20 on Monday before trading little changed to just under $91 following Friday’s 5.7% rise.
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average (.N225) fell as much as 2%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (.HSI) fell 0.43% and mainland blue chips (.CSI300) fell 0.69%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index (.AXJO) lost 0.35%, while New Zealand’s stock index (.NZ50) slipped about 1%.
On Friday, the pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) lost almost 1% and New York’s S&P 500 (.SPX) fell 0.5%, although U.S. stock futures looked 0.2% higher on Monday.
“The situation is dynamic and it is too early to say whether the hedges taken on Friday are unwarranted, but there have been positive news streams,” Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, wrote in a note, citing the resumption of water Deliveries as an example.
“Risk and energy markets will be paying attention to headlines and actions from Iranian officials who have said they have a duty to come to the aid of the Palestinians.”
Overall, currencies resumed some of their late-week moves, with the U.S. dollar index falling slightly to 106.51, from 106.79 on Friday.
The euro rose 0.14% to $1.05255, while the yen was little changed at $149.445.
The Israeli shekel weakened to 3.9900 per dollar earlier in the day for the first time since April 2015, although it has since risen about 0.3% to 3.9650.
Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields edged up to 4.6581% after falling more than 8 basis points on Friday on demand for the safety of bonds.
Gold prices gave up about $12 from their $63 gain on Friday, falling 0.6% to $1,919.29 an ounce.
“Ultimately, gold and oil prices are the most sensitive expression of the risks of the (Gaza) conflict,” Kyle Rodda, senior financial markets analyst at Capital.com, wrote in a note.
However, “identifying potential trouble spots and exit scenarios is a major challenge,” Rodda said.
Reporting by Kevin Buckland in Tokyo; Edited by Lincoln Feast and Sam Holmes.
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