The military escalation in the Middle East sent shockwaves through financial markets worldwide on Thursday. With gas prices rising and oil prices surging, investors are facing a sudden resurgence of uncertainty.
European markets fell sharply amid a wave of panic fueled by the deteriorating geopolitical situation : at the open, the CAC 40 was down 1.06%, the DAX fell 1.41%, while the London Stock Exchange dropped 1.14%. Milan was not spared, falling by 1.15%.
The same was true in the United States, where Wall Street had already set the tone yesterday, with the Dow Jones down 1.63%, the Nasdaq down 1.46%, and the S&P 500 down 1.36%.
Finally, in Tokyo, the Nikkei index fell 1.32%, while the broader Topix index dropped 1.21%, and in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 1.48%.
Gas prices soar 35%
The standout development remains the dramatic surge in natural gas prices : prices soared by as much as 35% in a single day, an exceptional spike triggered by an Iranian missile attack on the Ras Laffan gas complex in Qatar, which is also the world’s largest liquefied natural gas export facility. These attacks follow a previous strike on the giant South Pars gas field, which alone accounts for about 12% of Iran’s gas production.
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Read also > [STOCK MARKET UPDATE] Markets rocked by soaring oil prices and war in the Middle East
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