Global Risk Takes A Knock
The big news over the weekend has been the attack on Aramco’s oil facilities in Saudi Arabia that has sent oil prices skyrocketing this morning, and to President Trump ordering the release of strategic reserves to fill the gap.
Initially, the Yemeni Houthi group claimed responsibility for the attack but the US has subsequently suggested that it has found evidence pointing to Iran being behind the incident. Iran has denied these accusations and, subsequently, the tension between the two has risen substantially, with the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoting a commander as saying that “all American bases and their aircraft carriers to a distance of 2,000 kilometers around Iran are within the range of our missiles.”
As a result, global risk appetite has taken a significant knock, and we can expect a notable rotation into safe-haven assets taking place over the next few days. In terms of stocks to watch, oil companies will clearly see a hike, as will defense contractors at the suggestion of any heightened military tension. On the other side, it is usually airlines that receive the first hit as worried travellers change their minds.