- Asia-Pacific markets fall as investors monitor Middle East tensions; Japan’s Nikkei down 1.7%
Asia-Pacific markets were trading lower Wednesday morning, following a poor start to the trading month on
Wall Street that saw major indexes fall amid rising Middle East tensions. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was trading
down 0.1%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.1%, while the small-cap Kosdaq was down 0.8%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell
1.7%, while the Topix was down 0.9%. - S&P 500 falls, Nasdaq drops 1% to start October as Middle East tensions intensify
Stocks retreated Tuesday as growing tensions in the Middle East poured water on investor enthusiasm
coming off a strong quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 173.18 points, or 0.41%, to 42,156.97. The
S&P 500 pulled back 0.93% to 5,708.75, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.53% to finish at 17,910.36. - Oil prices rise on escalating attacks in the Middle East
Oil prices rose on Wednesday on fears conflict in the Middle East could turn into a wider war and disrupt oil
supply from the key producing region after Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel. Brent futures rose 83 cents, or
1.13%, to $74.39 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 88 cents, or 1.26%, to $70.71 at
0029 GMT, coming slightly down from spiking by more than $1 earlier in the session. During trading on
Tuesday, both crude benchmarks jumped more than 5%. Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel
on Tuesday, Israel said, in retaliation for Israel’s campaign against Tehran’s Hezbollah allies in Lebanon. Iran,
a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, is a major oil producer in the region. - Gold jumps over 1% on safe haven demand after Iran’s attack on Israel
Gold prices jumped over 1% on Tuesday on safe-haven demand as fears of a full-out war in the Middle East
escalated after Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel. Spot gold gained 1% to $2,661.63 per ounce after hitting
an all-time high of $2,685.42 on Thursday. U.S. gold futures settled 0.9% higher at $2,690.3. Iran fired a salvo
of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for Israel’s campaign against Tehran’s Hezbollah allies in
Lebanon. - Euro zone inflation falls to 1.8% in September, below the European Central Bank’s 2% target
Euro zone inflation fell to 1.8% in September, coming in below the European Central Bank’s 2% target, flash
data from statistics agency Eurostat showed Tuesday. The reading was in line with the expectations of
economists previously polled by Reuters. The core inflation rate, which excludes more volatile energy, food,
alcohol and tobacco prices, came in at 2.7%, slightly below forecasts. - Saudi Arabia slashes growth forecasts, sees wider budget deficits
Saudi real GDP is expected to grow 0.8% this year, in a dramatic drop from a previous estimate of 4.4%,
according to the latest pre-budget report published by the Ministry of Finance on Monday. Saudi authorities
also expect that the budget will remain in deficit for the next several years, as the kingdom prioritizes
spending to achieve the targets of the Vision 2030 economic diversification program. Saudi Arabia’s fiscal
breakeven oil price has increased and may continue to rise, as oil prices are expected to stay subdued. - Bitcoin tumbles back to the $60,000 level as tensions in the Middle East heighten
Cryptocurrencies slid on Tuesday night, with bitcoin dropping back to the $60,000 level after a shaky start to
what is usually one of its strongest months. The flagship crypto was last off by nearly 4% at $60,972.62,
according to Coin Metrics. Around 4:45 p.m. Eastern time, bitcoin slid to as low as $60,175. Ether
last traded at $2,449.83, down more than 5%. Stocks related to virtual currencies also tumbled in extended
trading. Crypto exchange Coinbase dropped about 1% and bitcoin proxy MicroStrategy lost 2%, after closing
lower by 7.4% and 3.5%, respectively. - Iran launches missile attack on Israel for killing of Hezbollah leader, general
Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel, the Israeli military said. President Joe Biden and Vice
President Kamala Harris met with national security officials at the White House to review the status of U.S.
preparations to help Israel defend against attacks. The attack comes after Israeli ground forces entered
southern Lebanon to attack the militant group Hezbollah. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than
250 points, spurred by a surge in the cost of WTI crude oil, on fears of heightened tensions in the petroleum-
rich Middle East. - A historic strike is underway at U.S. ports and the impact on global supply chains could be huge
A massive dockworker strike at seaports on the U.S. East and Gulf coasts is expected to wreak havoc on
global supply chains and the economy. Ocean supply chains have already been hit hard this year by conflict in
the Red Sea, a lengthy drought affecting the Panama Canal and the Baltimore bridge collapse. It’s really
crunch time with so many things at stake now, said Peter Sand, chief analyst at ocean freight rate intelligence
platform Xeneta. - India to fabricate its first chip in two years as Nvidia, AMD and Micron pledge to expand to the country
India will fabricate its first chip in two years, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told CNBC during a one-on-one
interview with CNBC in New York. India’s push into semiconductors comes as more U.S. chipmakers set their
sights on India. Nvidia, AMD, Micron are among the U.S. companies that have pledged to expand in the
country. Goyal says 14% of the world’s iPhones are manufactured in India, with that number expected to
grow. - Nike withdraws guidance, postpones investor day as it gears up for CEO change
Nike withdrew is full-year guidance and said it was postponing its investor day, which had been scheduled for
November. Nike beat earnings expectations by 18 cents, but it fell short on revenue as it works to fix its
product assortment and rework its approach to innovation. The sneaker giant is gearing up for a new CEO to
take the helm. - Apple shares fell 2.9% Tuesday, as analysts and investors continue to track early reads on demand for
the company’s latest iPhone
Citing supply chain channel checks, Barclays wrote that Apple may just have cut roughly 3M units at a key
semiconductor component in iPhones for the Dec-Q, which if confirmed would be the earliest build cut in
recent history. Availability for the phone also suggests softer demand for IP16 relative to last year, writes
analyst Tim Long. The firm has an underweight rating and $186 price target on the stock; the target is one of
the lowest among analysts. Separately, Citi lowered its iPhone unit forecasts for Apple’s September and
December quarters, but raised its forecasts for the March and June quarters of 2025. With Apple Intelligence
to be released in the US later in Oct and major Siri update likely next year, we continue to believe iPhone
refresh will happen in 2025 with iPhone 17 launch. Consumers are likely waiting to see how Apple
Intelligence will impact their daily interaction with their phones before upgrading. Buy rating, PT $255. - Energy and defense stocks climbed Tuesday, rising first on reports that Iran was preparing a ballistic
missile attack against Israel, then extending gains on news that rockets were being fired. Crude oil prices
also jumped
From a fundamental perspective, sectors like energy and defense benefit, while sectors like consumer and
specifically travel and leisure see a negative impact, said Ivana Delevska, chief investment officer of Spear
Invest. For investors who want to play defense, the utilities sector is a good place to hide. This space has
more defensive characteristics but also benefits from the data center build-out cycle and the need for
incremental power generation. Separately, Jonathan Caplan, founder of Caplan Capital Management, said
that in light of the ongoing geopolitical risks and the uncertain implications, we have continued to focus on
maintaining adequate exposure to the energy and gold sectors. This contrasts with a simple allocation to an
index fund, such as the S&P 500, whose risk profile does not have adequate embedded hedges against
geopolitical dislocation.
Menu