Equities sink, oil rallies on fears of Iran-Israel conflict

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Stock markets fell and oil prices climbed on growing fears of a wider war in the Middle East after Israel's army chief vowed a response to Iran's attack on his country. Israeli army chief General Herzi Halevi warned that Iran's attack would be met with a response. The selling came after Wall Street's three main indexes tanked in response to forecast-beating US retail sales data. Traders were also digesting figures showing Chinese expansion easily beat expectations in the first three months of the year but retail and industrial data came in well below par. Oil prices rose in Asian trade, having slipped Monday on hopes for a de-escalation following US calls for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "take the win" and forgo a counterattack. Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei, and Manila were all down more than two percent, while Tokyo shed 1.9 percent. Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, and Jakarta sank more than one percent each. London, Paris, and Frankfurt were all down more than one percent at the open. Investors appeared to ignore figures showing China's economy grew 5.3 percent in the first three months of the year, well above the 4.6 percent predicted in an AFP survey of analysts. Other data reinforced worries about the outlook, with industrial production and retail sales coming in well below forecasts. The losses in Asia followed a big sell-off on Wall Street, which was dragged down by tech giants including Amazon, Apple, and Alphabet. That came after figures showed March retail sales beat expectations in yet another indication that the US economy remains strong despite two-decade-high interest rates. Investors are now betting on just two reductions this year, compared with six penciled in at the beginning of January.

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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/equities-sink-oil-rallies-fears-034100301.html