NEW YORK, Oct 9 — US stock index futures fell today as a deepening conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas roiled global markets and pushed investors toward safe-haven assets, while crude prices jumped close to 4 per cent.

Israel’s troops were still fighting to clear out Hamas gunmen who killed 700 Israelis and seized hostages, even as the country responded with its heaviest ever bombardment of the Gaza Strip, killing about 500 people.

Israel has acknowledged that the battle was taking longer than expected, more than two days after the militants burst across the fence from Gaza on a deadly rampage.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the United States will send multiple military ships and aircraft closer to Israel as a show of support.

At 7:01 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 152 points, or 0.45 per cent, S&P 500 e-minis were down 24.25 points, or 0.56 per cent, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 109.5 points, or 0.72 per cent.

The CBOE volatility index, Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” also rose to 19.10, reflecting investor anxiety.

Traditional safe-haven assets including gold and the US dollar gained, while growing uncertainty pushed crude prices higher.

“We’re seeing a classic safe-haven move, but I would suggest no real sign of panic yet,” said Stuart Cole, chief macro economist at Equiti Capital.

“A lot will depend on whether the conflict spreads ... and any disruptions to oil supplies.”

Energy companies, including Chevron, Exxon Mobil , Marathon Oil and Occidental Petroleum jumped around 3 per cent each in premarket trading.

United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines suspended direct flights to Tel Aviv. Their shares were down more than 2 per cent each.

Gold miner Newmont and US-listed shares of Barrick Gold rose 1.7 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively.

Defense companies Northrop Grumman, RTX, General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin advanced between 2.9 per cent and 4.7 per cent.

The US bond market was shut today for Columbus Day.

Major technology stocks including Apple, Meta Platforms, Alphabet and Amazon.com dipped 0.9 per cent to 1.2 per cent.

Chip stocks Intel, Nvidia, Qualcomm and Advanced Micro Devices also lost between 1.0 per cent and 2.2 per cent.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 posted weekly gains on Friday as mixed jobs reports kept investors on edge around the Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook.

For the week, key inflation readings including September’s producer price and consumer price indexes, as well as the Fed’s September meeting minutes will be in focus.

Later on Monday, investors will keep an eye on speeches by Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson and Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr.

Focus will also be on the upcoming quarterly earnings from major banks including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo , Citigroup as well as asset manager BlackRock .

Tesla shed 1.7 per cent as data showed the company’s China-made EV sales volume for September decreased 10.9 per cent from a year ago.

Disney gained 0.8 per cent on a report Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management has increased its stake in the media giant, with the activist investor expected to request multiple board seats, including for himself. — Reuters