Global equity indices remained muted on Monday even as the United States-Israel-Iran war entered its third week.
Unlike major swings based on comments from the warring sides, investors have turned cautious, expecting the crisis may stay for longer than anticipated by the Donald Trump administration.
Dow Futures and S&P Futures were 0.44 percent and 0.54 percent higher, according to Bloomberg TV as of 1:45 ET on March 16.
The muted run came after Dow Jones and S&P 500 ended marginally lower on Friday with losses of 0.26 percent and 0.61 percent, respectively, while Nasdaq lost almost 0.93 percent, or 206 points, to close at around 22,105.
Asian markets followed cues with Japan’s Nikkei falling over 134 points or 0.25 percent while South Korean Kospi gained over 1.62 percent. Similarly, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also jumped over 1.3 percent.
On the domestic front, India’s Sensex and Nifty also traded with marginal gains. While the former was up 0.1 percent, or 77 points, the latter was trading at a gain of close to 0.2 percent.
According to experts, investors are also waiting for the policy rate announcements by various central banks this week, including the US Federal Reserve which is expected to maintain the status quo on rates as inflation in America remains above the Fed’s 2 percent target.
On the energy front, crude oil prices continued to rise with the global benchmark Brent Crude crossing the $104 per barrel mark. This is a rise of almost 1 percent from its previous close. The American WTI Crude also jumped close to $100 per barrel before climbing down to around $98 per barrel.
Markets are showing heightened volatility amid the Iran war. However, in the last couple of days, the situation on the energy front has eased with the International Energy Agency announcing a release of over 400 million barrels of oil from the strategic reserves of its member countries.
As part of this plan, the US has started to release oil from its reserves which is expected to reach the markets by the end of this week. Also, Iran has allowed some India-bound ships through the strait.
