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.