LDO Leonardo SpA

By Dominic Chopping

Israeli stock and bond prices stabilized Monday following a sharp selloff Sunday, while global oil prices surged after terror group Hamas killed hundreds and took hostages over the weekend.

The weekend violence saw the largest indexes on Tel Aviv's stock exchange fall by more than 6.5% on Sunday, but a slight rebound saw them gain by around 0.5% on Monday morning in a choppy session.

The country's currency has weakened sharply against the U.S. dollar Monday, falling 1.7% to a seven-year low and prompting Israel's central bank to plan the sale of up to $30 billion in foreign currencies to stabilize the shekel. The bank will also provide an additional $15 billion in liquidity to the market through swap mechanisms.

The mounting uncertainty in the region has seen oil prices jump, with Brent crude up 2.8% to $86.94 a barrel while WTI is 3.3% higher at $85.50 a barrel, having hit $87.24 a barrel earlier in the session.

European defense stocks including Britain's BAE Systems, Germany's Rheinmetall and Italy's Leonardo are strong gainers in early European trade, while Saab, Dassault Aviation, QinetiQ Group and Thales also higher.

At least 700 people have reportedly been killed in Israel and more than 400 have been killed in Gaza. Palestinian militant groups claimed to be holding more than 130 captives from the Israeli side.

More than 48 hours after Hamas launched its unprecedented incursion out of Gaza, Israeli forces were still battling with militants holed up in several locations.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 09, 2023 04:16 ET (08:16 GMT)

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