Gold, Bitcoin, Oil Surge As Futures, Asia Stocks Down After Iran Strike At US Airbases

Investors are looking for safe havens like gold and decentralized currencies as tensions in the Middle East region spike following Iran's strike at two airbases in Iraq that hosted American troops.

What Happened

More than a dozen ballistic missiles were launched targeting the Al-Assad and Irbil military bases hosting U.S. troops, the Pentagon confirmed on Tuesday, after Iran claimed responsibility for the attacks.

"All is well!" President Donald Trump said on Twitter. "Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well equipped military anywhere in the world, by far!"

Trump added that he would make a formal statement Wednesday morning. No casualties in the attack have been confirmed yet.

Defense stocks surged in after-hours trading on Tuesday, as speculations over the possibility of an imminent war between the two countries increase.

Asian stocks and U.S. futures tumbled in the face of the latest global macroeconomic risk.

Asia Stocks

Here's how the markets performed in Asia at press time.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 1.96% at 23,114.64, and TOPIX traded 1.81% lower at 1693.76.

China's Shanghai Composite dropped 0.5% at 3089.28. Shenzhen Component traded largely unchanged at 1791.37.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 1.16% at 27,993.54. South Korea's KOSPI traded 1.16% lower at 2,150.23.

Singapore's STI traded 0.76% lower at 3223.04.

US Futures

Dow Jones Futures were down 0.31% at 28,438.

NASDAQ 100 futures traded 0.38% lower at 8,819.

S&P 500 Futures lost 8.75 points at 3,226.40.

Gold, Bitcoin Make Gains

Bitcoin (BTC) traded 5.35% higher at $8,311.36 at press time. The apex cryptocurrency reached as high as $8,442 following the Iran strikes.

Gold Futures traded 1.25% higher at $1594.15. Earlier in the day, the prices briefly soared above the $1,600 mark for the first time since 2013.

The West Texas Intermediate crude futures traded 1.48% higher at $63.62 a barrel. Brent crude futures were up 1.57% at $69.34.