- As a sign that traders are weighing the US and its allies' efforts to stop the Israel-Hamas crisis from escalating further, US equities futures rose as Treasuries and the currency fell.
- As markets awaited new developments in the Middle East, the drive for safe-haven assets seen last week subsided. After falling 19 basis points the previous week, Treasury 10-year rates increased by five basis points on Monday.
- In the meantime, shares of South Korean, Australian, and Japanese companies fell, mirroring the S&P 500's loss on Friday. Despite the central bank injecting the most medium-term liquidity since 2020, stocks fell in mainland China.
- Oil maintained Friday's gains and fluctuated within a small range as US officials hurried to hold back-channel talks with Iran and other Middle Eastern countries in an effort to defuse the crisis. A more pronounced escalation might put Israel in direct conflict with Iran, a provider of weapons and funding to Hamas, which the US and the EU have blacklisted as a terrorist organisation.
