The
stock market fell during Monday’s trading amid escalating tensions in the
Middle East following the kill of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani,
which boosted demand for safe heavens at the expense of risky assets.
As
of 09:39 GMT, the Euro STOXX 600 fell 0.78 percent to 414.68, France CAC 40 was
1 percent down at 5,984.02 and Germany’s DAX descended 1.38 percent to 13,036.69.
In Britain, FTSE 100 dipped 0.92 percent to 7,552.34.
A
U.S. airstrike targeted a senior Iranian military commander on Friday, fueling
fears of an escalating conflict in the Middle East, as Iran vowed revenge.
The
Iranian side has said that it will not abide by the rules framed by the nuclear
agreement for uranium enrichment rates, while the U.S President has threatened with
a violent response beyond the strength of any attack that the Iranian
government might contemplate.
In
Asia, the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell by
0.7 percent at 556.47.
China’s CSI
300 index slipped 0.38 percent to finish at 4,129.30 points, Australia’s
S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.03 percent at 6,735.71 and Hong Kong Hang Seng
index slid 0.98 percent to reach 28,176.
In
Japan, Nikkei 225 was
down by 1.91 percent to close at 23,204.86.
Commodities
Commodities
are taking advantage of the tensions currently occurring, as the prices of oil
and gold have risen to reach the highest level in four months and seven years
respectively.
As
of Brent crude, it reached $69.92 per barrel, compared to the session’s open at
$69.56 a barrel, while the highest level in the day was hit at $70.75 a barrel.
West
Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded at $64.06 per barrel, after
opening at $63.83 per barrel.
Spot
gold hovered around $1,574.25 an ounce, where the precious metal hit the highest
level today at $1582.35, which is considered the highest level since April 2013.
Meanwhile, the dollar
index, which measures the performance of major six currencies against the U.S
dollar, slumped 0.23 percent at 96.29.