Key Levels for October 9th + Oil Prices as Israel Goes to War With Hamas

Stocks Sink Across Mideast as Israel Goes to War With Hamas

• Israel’s benchmark stock index drops most since March 2020

• Shares in Riyadh, Cairo, Doha, Kuwait also fall at open Sunday

As oil traders prepare for the market to open after the sudden eruption of war in Israel, one question is key: will the conflict spread to the rest of the region?

Crude traders don’t expect a massive price surge as there’s no immediate threat to supply. But all eyes are on Iran, a major oil producer and key backer of the Hamas group that launched this weekend’s offensive on Israel.

A retaliatory strike against the Islamic Republic would inflame fears over the Strait of Hormuz, the vital shipping artery which Tehran has previously threatened to shutter. There’s also the prospect of the US cracking down again on a resurgent flow of Iranian oil exports.

The “oil-disruption scenario,” according to Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group and a former White House official, “would be if conflict spread to Iran.” For now, that looks unlikely, he said.