GLOBAL markets largely slipped yesterday, while oil prices surged by almost 6%, amid fears that Israel’s imminent ground offensive of Gaza could turn a localised war into a regional conflict and impact oil supplies in the crude-rich Middle East.

Wall Street ended the day mixed, with the tech-rich Nasdaq declining 1.2%, and the S&P 500 500 falling 0.5%. 

But the Dow Jones Industrial Average defied the broader downward trend, rising 0.1% on the back of positive earnings from JP Morgan and Wells Fargo, two of America’s biggest banks.

CFRA chief investment strategist Sam Stovall told AFP that “JPMorgan and Wells Fargo set an encouraging pace” with better-than-expected earnings and revenues.

Recent Middle East turmoil means this “may be the most dangerous time the world has seen in decades”, JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon said in a statement earlier yesterday.

JPMorgan shares earlier rose 1.5% while those of Wells Fargo were lifted 3.1%.

All the major European markets fell Friday, as the mood among traders turned more pessimistic.

Asian markets also declined after Chinese inflation data came in lower than expected, fueling deflationary concerns in the world’s second-largest economy.

Crude surge

Contracts for Brent North Sea crude for December delivery surged 5.7% yesterday, while those for America’s West Texas Intermediate rose 5.8%, as fighting between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip continued. 

Thousands of Palestinians fled from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip on Friday after Israel warned it is preparing a ground offensive in response to last weekend’s attacks, in which Hamas militants killed more than 1,300 people. 

“The market expects it to be a very bad weekend in Israel and Gaza,” Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments told AFP.

“That Israel gave notice to the residents to leave suggests it is going to get ugly,” he added.

Energi Danmark analysts said a recent pipeline sabotage in the Baltic Sea added to “geopolitical uncertainty” in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Helsinki believes last weekend’s leak in the Finland-Estonia gas pipeline was caused by “external” activity, sparking suspicions of Russian involvement.

Key figures around 2015 GMT

New York - Dow: UP 0.1% at 33,670.29 points (close)

New York - S&P: DOWN 0.5% at 4,327.78 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 1.2% at 13,407.23 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 at 7,599.60 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.6% at 15,186.66 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.4% at 7,003.53 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.5% at 4,136.12 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.6% at 32,315.99 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.3% at 17,813.45 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.6% at 3,088.10 (close)

Dollar/yen: DOWN at  ¥149.53 from  ¥149.79 on Thursday

Euro/dollar: DOWN at US$1.0513 from US$1.0534

Pound/dollar: DOWN at US$1.2138 from US$1.2177 

Euro/pound: UP at 86.58 pence from 86.48 pence 

Brent North Sea crude: UP 5.7% at US$90.89 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 5.8% at US$87.69 per barrel – AFP, October 14, 2023.