Shares of Santos surged as much as 15.23% Monday, after it received a non-binding takeover offer of $18.72 billion by an Abu Dhabi’s National Oil Company-led group.

The move marks the biggest intraday jump in the Australian oil and gas producer’s shares since April 2020, LSEG data shows.

Israel’s airstrikes on Iran Friday sent reverberations through financial markets.

Oil prices jumped on fears that supply from Iran, the world’s ninth-largest oil producer in 2023, would be disrupted.

Prices of gold, the stalwart shelter in times of crises, rose. Investors flock to the precious metal amid uncertainty because it serves as a stable store of value that is mostly resistant against exogenous shocks, such as inflation or geopolitical conflicts.

And the dollar strengthened, as it is wont to do when the world looks ugly. Recall the dollar smile: The greenback will appreciate when things are really good because investors want in on U.S. risk assets, or when they are really bad because investors want in on the perceived safety of U.S. government bonds.

The fact that the dollar increased in value against other currencies traditionally perceived as safe havens, such as the Swiss franc and Japanese yen, emphasizes the primacy of king dollar, despite rumblings of de-dollarization and concerns over U.S. government debt.

Stocks, the financial risk asset epitomized, fell across markets globally.

Despite the markets giving multiple indications we are entering a period of ugliness — or, at least, volatility — U.S. stocks still appear resilient, and the surge in oil prices only brings us back to where they were about three months ago as prices have been low since, CNBC’s Michael Santoli wrote.

The markets have, indeed, mostly shrugged off Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war, both of which are still brewing. But with the conflict between Israel and Iran still in its early days, it might pay to be extra cautious in the coming weeks.

Israel strikes Iran
On Sunday, Israel launched a series of airstrikes across Iran. That marks the third day of violence between the two nations. Armed conflict broke out when Israel struck Iran’s nuclear facilities early Friday local time. In retaliation, Iran launched more than 100 drones toward Israeli territory. Those events are likely just the beginning in a rapid cycle of escalation, according to regional analysts.

Stocks retreat globally
U.S. futures rose Sunday night local time. On Friday, fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East sent stocks lower. The S&P 500 lost 1.13%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.79% and the Nasdaq Composite retreated 1.3%. Europe’s Stoxx 600 index dropped 0.89%. Travel and airline stocks on both sides of the Atlantic fell as the outlook for international travel grew cloudy and airlines suspended their Tel Aviv flights.

Safe haven assets in demand
Investors piled into safe-haven assets after Israel’s attack on Iran. After weeks of declining, the dollar index, a measurement of the strength of the U.S. dollar against other major currencies, rallied 0.3% on Friday and was up 0.1% as of 7:30 a.m. Singapore time Monday. Spot gold rose 0.38% and gold futures for August delivery were up 0.41% Monday, adding to Friday’s gains of 1.4% and 1.5% respectively.

Prices of oil jump
Oil prices surged as investors feared a disruption to oil supply from Iran, which produced 3.305 million barrels per day in April, according to OPEC’s Monthly Oil Market Report of May. As of Monday morning Singapore time, U.S. crude oil rose 2.22% to $74.62 a barrel, adding to its 7.26% jump on Friday. The global benchmark Brent climbed 2.22% to $75.88 a barrel, following Friday’s 7.02% surge.

[PRO] U.S. stocks still look resilient
Even though stocks fell on the eruption of conflict between Israel and Iran, the market appeared resilient, wrote CNBC’s Michael Santoli. This week, while hostilities between the two Middle East countries will continue weighing on investors’ minds, they should not lose sight of the Federal Reserve’s rate-setting meeting, which concludes Wednesday.

Crude oil futures jumped more than 3% Sunday after Israel struck two natural gas facilities in Iran, raising fears that the war will expand to energy infrastructure and disrupt supplies in the region.

U.S. crude oil rose $2.72, or 3.7%, to $75.67 per barrel. Global benchmark Brent was up $3.67, or 4.94%, at $77.90 per barrel.

Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles struck the South Pars gas field in southern Iran on Saturday, according to Iranian state media reports. The strikes hit two natural gas processing facilities, according to state media.

It is unclear how much damage was done to the facilities. South Pars is one of the largest natural gas fields in the world. Israel also hit a major oil depot near Tehran, sources told The Jerusalem Post.

Iranian missiles, meanwhile, damaged a major oil refinery in Haifa, according to The Times of Israel.

Oil prices closed more than 7% higher Friday, after Israel launched a wave of airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs as well as its senior military leadership.

It was the biggest single-day move for the oil market since March 2022 after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. U.S. crude oil jumped 13% in total last week.

The war has entered its third day with little sign that Israel or Iran will back down, as they exchanged barrages of missile fire throughout the weekend.

Iran is considering shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, a senior commander said on Saturday. About one-fifth of the world’s oil is transported through the strait on its way to global markets, according to Goldman Sachs. A closure of the strait could push oil prices above $100 per barrel, according to Goldman.

However, some analysts are skeptical Iran has the capability to close the strait.

“I’ve heard assessments that it would be very difficult for the Iranians to close the Strait of Hormuz, given the presence of the U.S Fifth Fleet in Bahrain,” Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Friday.

“But they could target tankers there, they could mine the straits,” Croft said.