Fresh reports of a retaliatory attack by Israel on the Iranian site on April 19 have spurred oil prices and risk-off sentiment. The trends in the GIFT Nifty indicate a gap-down start for the Indian markets as it stood at 21,759, down over 300 points, as of 7:40 am. Brent crude prices, on the other hand, jumped more than 3 percent to top $90 per barrel.
Just days after Iran launched a massive aerial attack on Israel that involved the deployment of 300 missiles and drones, reports suggested that Israel responded to the attack and hit missiles on the Iranian site on April 19. The explosions have been reported in the cities of Isfahan and Nata. The explosion has occurred close to an Iranian army air base and Isfahan's airport. Flights have been suspended in various Iranian airports.
Given market concerns that a retaliatory attack by Israel was feared, oil prices rebounded from 3-week lows and jumped over 3 percent. While Brent Crude was up 3 percent to top $90 per barrel, WTI Crude surged over 3 percent to $85.75 per barrel.
The global markets have also responded to this sudden attack. All US-linked equity futures slipped over a percent this morning. Dow Jones Futures was down 400 points, while tech-heavy Nasdaq Futures tumbled over 250 points.
Asia-Pacific markets, too, fell on April 19 morning, led by over 3 percent losses in Japan's Nikkei 225, followed by South Korea's 2 percent fall, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, and Australia's S&P 200 indices 1 percent decline.
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