SINGAPORE, April 2 (Reuters) - Markets recoiled on Thursday as war jitters over Iran deepened, with stocks sliding, oil surging and the dollar firming after U.S. President Donald Trump dashed hopes for clarity on when the Middle East conflict might end.
Trump said in a prime-time address that the U.S. would hit Iran “extremely hard” within weeks, claiming military goals were nearly achieved and the conflict was close to ending.
“We have no additional certainty or clarity around timeline from this address and this is what the market was looking for,” said Jon Withaar, senior portfolio manager at Pictet Asset Management in Singapore.
“The fact that we can expect 2-3 more weeks of action, boots on the ground were not ruled out and that threats to hit infrastructure were reiterated will put the market back on the defensive, particularly as we come into the long weekend.”
The prospect of the end to the month-long U.S.-Israeli war with Iran lifted global stocks and knocked the dollar off its recent highs in the past two sessions after a brutal March where soaring oil prices sent risk assets into a tailspin.
