From Yahoo Finance: 2025-06-12 20:39:00

World stock markets fell on Friday as Israel launched military strikes on Iran, causing oil prices to surge. Gold and the dollar saw inflows as Iran responded with missile strikes on Israel. Oil prices jumped over 13%, with U.S. crude settling at $72.98 a barrel and Brent crude at $74.23 a barrel.

Gold prices rose to $3,431 per ounce, nearing the record high of $3,500.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.8%, the S&P 500 dropped 1.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.3%. European and Asian markets also saw declines, with major bourses in Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong falling over 1% each.

The Middle East conflict adds financial market uncertainty amid global economic pressure from President Trump’s trade policies. Wells Fargo Investment Institute’s Sameer Samana sees this as a buying opportunity for long-term investors in U.S. large-cap stocks and commodities. Planned U.S. protests and immigration raids in Los Angeles further heighten concerns.

U.S. 10-year Treasury yields rose to 4.413% as markets reacted to the shock. Markets expect a more hawkish Fed due to inflationary oil prices. The dollar index rose 0.5% to 98.16, with the Swiss franc briefly hitting its strongest level since April. The euro was down at $1.15, and the Japanese yen fell 0.34% to about 144 per dollar.

Investors are closely watching the conflict’s impact, with concerns over the dollar’s weakness if the conflict is short-term. Arun Bharath of Bel Air Investment Advisors notes that fundamental factors might offset dollar weakness with a geopolitical premium if the conflict persists.



Read more at Yahoo Finance: Stocks slump, oil prices surge after Israel attacks Iran