West Asia War Not Fully Priced In By Markets, More Equity Erosion Possible: Jefferies' Chris Wood

(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, March 13 (IANS) Global equity markets have not fully priced in the economic fallout of the ongoing war in the Middle East, Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, said in his weekly note to investors.

Wood said markets have shown surprising resilience considering that it has been nearly two weeks since the U.S.‐Israel strikes on Iran.

“The explanation for the lack of a more dramatic sell‐off in stocks is markets’ continuing assumption that Donald Trump will do another TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) at any time,” he wrote, adding that the conflict has a chance of ending quickly only if that scenario plays out.

Even in such a scenario, “there is the issue of what Iran’s and Israel’s stance will be,” he warned.

Wood said the war’s chief beneficiaries so far include Russia and China, and the former gains from higher oil prices and renewed scope to sell crude to buyers such as India.

As of Friday, India’s benchmark index Nifty 50 has dropped over 6 per cent in the last two weeks since the war began, falling from around 24,800 levels to near 23,300.

Analysts said the combination of elevated energy prices and geopolitical uncertainty poses upside risks to inflation and downside risks to growth, leaving markets vulnerable if the conflict widens or endures.

US Secretary of Treasury, Scott Bessent, had posted on social media that the United States administration is providing a“temporary authorisation to permit countries to purchase Russian oil currently stranded at sea to increase the global reach of existing supply.”

Brent crude had surged past $120 a barrel earlier in March, while natural gas prices have climbed about 14 per cent from recent lows to $3.259 per MMBtu.

Brent crude was trading at $99.99 per barrel, down 0.47 per cent early on Friday, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped 0.67 per cent to $95.09 per barrel.

The current total national capacity for storage of crude oil and petroleum products is 74 days, as per industry data.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this week said that the government was determined to ensure that the citizens of India do not face any problems due to wars in different parts of the world.

-IANS

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