Iran-Israel conflict: TA-35 index crashes 2% as Tel Aviv stocks dive amid fresh flare-up in Middle East tensions

Iran-Israel conflict: Shares on the Tel Aviv stock exchange faced a brutal selloff in trade on Thursday, June 12, as investors chose to book profits amid the latest flare-up between tensions in Israel and Iran.

Media reports suggest that Israel is fully prepared to launch an operation into Iran, which has not just made the markets jittery but also prompted the US to move non-essential embassy staff out of Iraq.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that US personnel were being moved out of the Middle East because it could become a dangerous place, adding that the United States would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.

Meanwhile, Iran threatened to strike US bases in the region if talks over its nuclear program fell through.

Iran’s Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said in televised remarks that he hoped the talks reached a resolution, according to a Bloomberg report. “But if they don’t, and conflict is imposed on us, the other side will undoubtedly suffer greater losses. We will target all US bases in host countries without hesitation,” he said.

Impact on Israel's stock market

Against this backdrop and subdued global market mood, the Iranian stock market's TA 35 lost 2.3% over the last close to the day's low of 2,671.

For the month so far, the TA 35 index is trading flat, with a negative bias. However, this fall follows two straight months of solid gains during which the index gained almost 11%.

Global stocks jittery

Globally, too, stocks took a breather from the almost-unbroken rally that has run since early April, leaving the MSCI All-Country World index down 0.1%, just below Wednesday's all-time high.

In Europe, the STOXX 600 fell 0.8%, led mostly by airlines and autos, given the strength in the oil price, while futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 0.5%.

Back in India, the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty also traded with cuts, down over 1% in the afternoon session today.

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