• Investors are treading cautiously in early Asian trading as markets grapple with ratcheting tensions after Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel at the weekend.
• The dollar was steady against its major developed market peers and US stock futures edged higher after the S&P 500 suffered its worst session since January on Friday amid a flight to safety. Oil edged lower and gold rose, while Asian equity futures pointed to early losses. Australian 10-year yields opened lower.
• With investors already rattled by sticky inflation and the prospect of higher-for-longer interest rates, the escalation of the Middle East crisis risks injecting fresh volatility into markets. As the conflict widens, many say oil could surpass $100 a barrel and expect a flight to Treasuries, gold and the dollar, along with further stock-market losses.