primeimages
Global stock markets on Friday have been rattled by reports of explosions in Iran, Syria and Iraq, with concerns of a wider conflict in the Middle East continuing to swell after Tehran's drone attack on Israel last weekend.
Reports say the strike in Iran was launched by Israel, although there's no official word from Israel or Iran on the alleged attack.
The geopolitical tensions drove safe-haven appeal, with gold briefly crossing $2,400 an ounce and crude futures (CL1:COM) rising to as high as $90/bbl before paring gains. The dollar (DXY) and yen (JPY:USD) both strengthened.
European markets opened in the red on Friday: Germany's DAX (DAX:IND) -1%, France's CAC 40 (CAC:IND) -0.8%, U.K.'s FTSE 100 (UKX) -0.7%.
Asian markets largely fell: Japan's Nikkei 225 (NKY:IND) -2.7%, South Korea's Kospi (KOSPI) -1.6%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng (HSI) -1%, China's Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) -0.3%.
Meanwhile, U.S. bond yields slid across the curve, while U.S. stock futures (SPX) (INDU) (NDX:IND) all fell in the early hours of trade.