Stock Market Live Updates: Stocks tumble after U.S. kills Iranian general - Yahoo Finance

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8 a.m. ET: Stock futures sink; Oil and gold surge

U.S. stock futures sank across the board and oil and gold prices surged Friday after the U.S. launched an airstrike killing a top Iranian general.

Here were the main pre-market moves, as of 8 a.m. ET:

S&P futures (ES=F): 3,223.25, down 35.75 points or 1.10%
Dow futures (YM=F): 28,564, down 277 points or 0.96%
Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): 8,774.25, down 117.50 points or 1.32%
Crude oil (CL=F): $63.44 per barrel, up $2.26 or 3.69%
Gold (GC=F): $1,549 per ounce, up $20.90 or 1.37%

The U.S. confirmed that Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani was killed near Baghdad Airport Friday by an American drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump. “This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans. The United States will continue to take all necessary action to protect our people and our interests wherever they are around the world,” according to the statement.

The 62-year-old was a top Iranian commander and directed the wars in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen, and Iran’s supreme leader vowed ‘forceful revenge’ following the attack.

The geopolitical turmoil sent oil prices spiking with crude up nearly 4% on the news. “Higher oil prices represent a tax on oil consumers and a windfall for producers,” Pantheon Macro wrote in a note Friday. “World oil consumption is about 100M barrels per day, so each five dollars on the prices is equivalent to an annualized tax of about $183B per year, or 0.1% of global GDP.”

Gold prices also got a boost, as investors flocked to safe-haven assets. “Gold's a winner as tension increases, and oil prices are higher too,” Societe Generale said in a note Friday. “Bond yields are lower, the equity rally which was underway in the US has stalled but not gone dramatically until reverse, and in the FX market, safe havens and oil-sensitive currencies benefit but it's the yen which is the clear winner.”

Pakistani demonstrate over the U.S. airstrike in Iraq that killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Friday, Jan. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)

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Heidi Chung is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @heidi_chung.

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