Crude oil soared overnight and this morning after Israel struck multiple sites across Iran. Stocks slid, while gold popped on safe-haven buying. The dollar is modestly higher, while Treasuries are mostly flat.
Israel launched a powerful and widespread attack on Iranian territory overnight, hitting military bases, residential complexes, and air defense targets with drones and more than 200 fighter jets. Key Iranian military leaders were reportedly killed, while the Natanz nuclear site where Iran has been enriching uranium was also struck.
Crude Oil, Gold, S&P Futures (Overnight % Change)
Iran is responding with drone and missile attacks on Israel, with many being intercepted along the way. The US and Iran were scheduled to hold another round of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear development program Sunday, but it’s unclear if that will go ahead. President Trump urged Iran to make a deal again in the hours after Israel’s initial strike.
As for markets, crude oil rose around 10% when the news broke, before giving back a couple percentage points of that move. US WTI futures were recently trading up about $5 at $73. Gold topped $3,460 an ounce before easing back, while stocks slid about 1%. Markets will be closely watching how far the conflict spreads – and whether the US is somehow drawn in.
In other news, Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) are back...sort of. The USDC “stablecoin” issuer Circle Internet Group Inc. (CRCL) went public last Friday, and it subsequently rallied 240%. The Artificial Intelligence and data center play CoreWeave Inc. (CRWV) started trading on March 28, and it surged almost 300% thereafter.
Still, activity remains far below the frenzied levels we saw in the most recent boom year of 2021 – when a whopping 397 IPOs raised $142 billion, according to Renaissance Capital. Moreover, the Renaissance IPO ETF (IPO) was up 1% year-to-date through yesterday, less than the 3% rise in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY).
