FTSE 100 Live: Global stocks fall as oil prices hit three-week high on Iran fighting Proactive uses images sourced from Shutterstock FTSE 100 Live pre-open
Futures for London’s blue-chip index and those in Europe and the US are all in the red on Monday, as oil prices were ratcheted higher after the US launched more strikes on Iran, which in turn said it has closed the Strait of Hormuz.
The FTSE 100 has been called 25 points lower on Monday, following a loss across the past week of 181.74 points or 1.7% from the four-month highs reached at the start of the month.
Across the pond, futures are pointing to a 1.3% fall for the tech-heavy Nasdaq index, while the Dow Jones and S&P 500 are seen dropping 0.35% and 0.55%.
Asian markets are mostly in the red, with Japan’s Nikkei and Korea’s Kospi down 1.9% and 7.6%, with the Hang Seng currently just above flat in Hong Kong.
“Since Friday night, the US–Iran conflict has intensified sharply,” says Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid, “with Washington launching multiple rounds of strikes targeting Iranian air defences, radar systems and missile and drone capabilities, while Tehran has responded with attacks across the region and against shipping.
“The exchange has increasingly centred on the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has claimed the waterway is effectively closed and warned vessels against transiting, even as US officials insist it remains open and are actively escorting commercial traffic.”
Strikes on military and energy sites across the Gulf have been reported, which Reid says underscores the “widening scope of the conflict”.
Oil prices have shot up, with Brent rising 4.3% to $79.25 a barrel, its highest in over three weeks., and US and other government bond yields have inched up.