(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock index futures dropped as global oil prices surged the most on record after a drone strike on a Saudi Arabian oil facility increased geopolitical risk concern.
S&P 500 Index futures were down 0.5% at 11:32 a.m. in London, while Dow Jones and Nasdaq contracts were down 0.4% and 0.6% respectively. All futures were bouncing from lows. Brent crude soared as much as 19.5% and West Texas Intermediate added 15.5% after the news of the attack on the world's largest crude exporter.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index dropped 0.5%, led by financial stocks. Oil and gas equities rallied as much as 3%, set for their best day since the beginning of the year, while airlines including EasyJet Plc and Air France-KLM fell. The defensive groups of health care, utilities and food were the only other industries gaining.
The Saudi Arabia attacks will likely hurt Asian stock markets today with the S&P e-mini futures already lower, Jeffrey Halley, a market analyst at Oanda Asia Pacific Pte, wrote in an email. “This story will continue to reverberate this week even after the knee-jerk panic in oil markets this morning.”
President Donald Trump said the U.S. is “locked and loaded depending on verification” that Iran staged the attack on major Saudi Arabian oil facilities. Several administration officials said Sunday that they had substantial evidence that Iran was behind the attack, not the Houthi rebels in Yemen who claimed responsibility.
--With assistance from Michael Msika.
To contact the reporter on this story: Abhishek Vishnoi in Singapore at avishnoi4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lianting Tu at ltu4@bloomberg.net, Tom Redmond
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