Global Shares, Oil Prices Surge Amid Red Sea Region Conflicts

Global shares edged up on Friday while oil surged as the conflict in the Red Sea region appeared to escalate, while slightly hotter U.S. inflation data did not shift investors’ view that interest rates could soon start to fall.

The MSCI All-World share index (.MIWD00000PUS) was up 0.3%, reflecting a bounce in Europe, where the STOXX 600 (.STOXX) rose nearly 1%, led partly by a rally in shares of aerospace and defence companies, where the sector index hit a record high. (.SXPARO).

U.S. stock futures held steady, while government bond yields fell, reflecting demand among investors for safe-haven assets.

Oil rose by as much as 2.6% after the United States and Britain said they had launched strikes from the air and sea against Houthi military targets in Yemen in response to the group’s attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

Brent futures were last up 2.45% at $79.25 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 2.6% to $73.86.

The dollar edged up against a basket of major currencies, as did gold , which benefitted from investor risk aversion, rising 0.5% to $2,040 an ounce.

Other classic safe-havens such as the Swiss franc held mostly steady, a situation that some analysts said could change.

Reuters/Hauwa Abu