U.S. stocks fell in premarket trading after the United States and Israel entered into conflict with Iran over the weekend.
The Invesco QQQ exchange-traded fund (ETF), which tracks the Nasdaq 100 index, fell 1.5%, although initial losses have begun to moderate, suggesting that initial concerns may have been somewhat overblown.
A Saudi Arabian oil refinery was hit by Iran’s response, sending the price of WTI crude to $75 per barrel. It was recently trading below $72, although it is still 8% higher in the last 24 hours.
Gold rose more than 2% in the past day to $5,400 an ounce, putting it within reach of its all-time high near $5,600 as investors sought traditional safe haven assets. It also retreated after an initial rise.
bitcoin has held up, trading above $66,000 and gaining around 1% in the last 24 hours. This marks a modest divergence from its recent correlation with software stocks, as the iShares Expanded Software-Technology Sector ETF (IGV) is down about 1%.
Among cryptocurrency-related stocks, Strategy (MSTR), the largest publicly traded corporate holder of bitcoin, is little changed. Crypto-exchange Bullish (BLSH), the parent company of CoinDesk, is down 4%, while AI-focused miners Cipher Digital (CIFR) and IREN (IREN) are down about 3%. Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) is down 2%.
The conflict sent the US dollar index (DXY) up to 98.2. At the same time, both the S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX) and the US Bond Market Volatility Index (MOVE) have risen more than 10%, reflecting high market uncertainty.
