Treasuries, Gold Prices Rise, Stocks Fall on Mideast Fears

KONTAN.CO.ID - NEW YORK. U.S. Treasuries and gold prices rose while global stock indexes fell on Friday on safe-haven buying driven by the escalating Middle East conflict as Israel urged civilians to leave the northern Gaza Strip.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 was lower despite upbeat results from big U.S. banks on Friday, which marked the unofficial start of the third-quarter reporting period for S&P 500 companies.

Shares of JPMorgan were up 3.8% after it reported a 35% profit increase from the year-ago quarter.

The Israeli military called for civilians to leave Gaza City ahead of an anticipated ground invasion in response to devastating attacks by Hamas militants at the weekend.

"It's going to be a risk-off day ... as investors basically buy safety assets," said Tom di Galoma, managing director and co-head of global rates trading at BTIG in New York.

The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was last down 8.8 basis points at 4.623%.

Spot gold added 2.8% to $1,921.59 an ounce.

In stocks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 51.19 points, or 0.15%, to 33,682.33; the S&P 500 lost 12.73 points, or 0.29%, at 4,336.88; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 119.45 points, or 0.88%, to 13,454.77.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.97% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.67%.

In currencies, the dollar edged higher, extending gains from the previous session when hot U.S. consumer prices data reinforced expectations the Federal Reserve may have to keep interest rates higher for longer.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six of its major peers, ticked up 0.2% to 106.7. The index, which jumped 0.8% on Thursday, its biggest one-day rise since March 15, is on pace to finish the week higher.

Oil prices jumped after the U.S. tightened its sanctions program against Russian crude exports.

U.S. crude recently rose 4.19% to $86.38 per barrel and Brent was at $89.48, up 4.05% on the day.

Data earlier on Friday showed China's consumer prices were flat in September, while factory-gate prices shrank more slowly, indicating deflationary pressures persist, while exports and imports continued to contract at a slower pace.