On Monday, October 9, the U.S. stock markets closed higher despite the uncertainty caused by the Hamas-Israel conflict and a spike in oil prices.

The announcement of the conflict incited a surge in oil prices due to supply anxieties. However, lenient comments from Federal Reserve officials helped reverse initial declines in stock indexes.

The officials suggested that the recent increase in long-term U.S. Treasury bond yields might deter further hikes in the Fed’s short-term policy rate, alleviating some concerns among equity investors.

Major defense companies, alongside oil and gas giants, experienced a surge in their stock prices in the wake of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 0.59% at 33,604.65, the S&P 500 followed suit with an increase of 0.63%, settling at 4,335.66, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.39% to conclude at 13,484.24.

Asian Markets Today

Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was up 1.52%.
• Germany’s DAX increased 1.69%.
• France’s CAC rose 1.53%.
• The U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded higher by 1.54%.

Commodities at 06:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.28% at $86.13/bbl, and Brent was down 0.29% at $87.89/bbl.
• Natural Gas rose 0.36% to $3.388.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.38% at $1,871.45, Silver declined 0.10% to $21.902, and Copper was down 0.63% to $3.6232.

US Futures at 06:00 AM ET

Dow futures were up 0.19%, S&P 500 futures increased 0.18%, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose by 0.20%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index was down 0.22% to 105.86. USD/JPY gained 0.27% to 148.89, and AUD/USD declined by 0.06% to 1.5588.