Asian Stocks Decline While Gold Surges Amid Middle East Tensions

In today’s trading session, Asian stocks showed declines amidst concerns about escalating tensions in the Middle East, prompting investors to seek safer investment options. 

On Monday, Indian shares saw declines as investors offloaded riskier assets following Iran’s retaliatory strike on Israel over the weekend, sparking concerns about a broader regional conflict. 

As of 10:10 a.m. IST, Nifty 50 went down by 0.73% at 22,354.70 while the S&P BSE Sensex declined by 0.75% to 73,687.02.

Forty-one of the Nifty 50 stocks witnessed declines, while all thirteen major sectors recorded losses. 

Amidst the escalating tensions in the Middle East, shares of Indian rice and tea exporters also experienced a decline. India ranks among the top exporters of basmati rice and tea, with Iran being a significant buyer of these commodities

The looming risk of a full-blown conflict breaking out in the Middle East, potentially involving the United States, has left the region on edge. President Joe Biden warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the US would not engage in retaliatory strikes against Iran.

As per Israel, “the campaign is not over yet.”

Japan’s Nikkei 225 also went down by 0.7%, trading at 39,232.80, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped by 0.6% to 16,619.67. The Shanghai Composite, on the other hand, gained 0.8% trading at 3,044.49.

South Korea’s Kospi also went down by 0.4% to 2,671.19. In Australia, S&P/ASX slipped by 0.4% trading at 7,754.50. 

The rising tensions also triggered a rush to safety, driving gold prices up, while the safe-haven dollar strengthened across the board, extending its 1.6% increase from the previous week.