Stock market today: Asian shares sink, oil slips as investors brace for Israeli invasion of Gaza
BANGKOK (AP) — World shares fell and oil prices edged lower as investors braced Monday for an expected invasion by Israel in the Gaza Strip.
The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials edged 0.1% higher. Germany’s DAX shed 0.5% to 15,104.87 and the CAC 40 in Paris declined 0.5%, to 6,965.51. Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 7,589.92.
Israeli forces, supported by a growing deployment of U.S. warships in the region and the call-up of some 360,000 reservists, have positioned themselves along Gaza’s border and drilled for what Israel said would be a broad campaign to dismantle the militant group Hamas.
More than a million people have fled their homes in the besieged enclave in the past week, ahead of the expected invasion meant to eliminate Hamas’ leadership after its deadly Oct. 7 attack.
“Who can blame markets for being jittery,” RaboResearch Global Economics and Markets said in a commentary. “The world now holds its breath as Israel prepares for a full-scale ground invasion of Gaza, with only unseasonal torrential rain delaying the seemingly inevitable.”
The conflict has jolted oil markets, adding to uncertainties already hanging over the global economic outlook. The Gaza region is not a major producer of oil, but the fear is that the violence could spill into the politics around the crude market and eventually lead to disruptions in the flow of petroleum, with broad ramifications for many industries.
On Friday, the price of a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude oil jumped $4.78 to settle at $87.69. Brent crude, the international standard, climbed $4.89 to $90.89 per barrel. Early Monday, U.S. crude oil was down 17 cents at $87.52 per barrel. Brent gave up 28 cents to $90.61 a barrel.
Worries about the state of the U.S. economy have also undermined recent optimism over the possibility that the Federal Reserve might halt its interest rate hikes aimed at quashing inflation.
Persisting inflationary pressures along with higher oil prices are casting doubts on that, and threatening the “’remarkable resilience’ of the U.S. economy, which buoyed stock markets until a few months ago,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a report.
In Asian trading Monday, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 sank 2% to 31,659.03 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 1% to 17,640.36. South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.8% to 2,436.24.
The Shanghai Composite index was 0.5% lower, at 3,073.81, while Bangkok’s SET skidded 2.1%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.4% at 7,026.50.
On Friday, U.S. stocks mostly fell as they were buffeted by competing waves of optimism and fear.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.5% to 4,327.78 and the Nasdaq composite fell 1.2% to 13,407.23. The Dow industrials edged up 0.1% to 33,670.29.
Worries about the war pulled Treasury yields lower, which often happens when investors head for safer investments during times of stress. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.63% from 4.70% late Thursday.
Yields also eased after another official at the Federal Reserve said the central bank may be done hiking its main interest rate following a blistering campaign that began early last year.
Several U.S. banking giants said their profits during the summer were better than feared, which offered hope on Wall Street for an earning reporting season that may deliver the first growth for big companies in a year.
JPMorgan Chase rose 1.5% after its profit for the third quarter climbed 35% from a year earlier. It benefited from a rise in interest rates, but its CEO Jamie Dimon also warned that “this may be the most dangerous time the world has seen in decades.”
Wells Fargo rose 3.1% after it likewise topped analysts’ expectations for profit during the summer quarter.
UnitedHealth Group beat Wall Street’s profit expectations, and its stock climbed 2.6%.
Dollar General jumped to the biggest gain in the S&P 500, up 9.2%, after it said Todd Vasos will be returning as CEO.
In currency dealings early Monday, the U.S. dollar was unchanged at 149.55 yen. The euro rose to $1.0535 from $1.0515.