Middle East Tensions Spark Global Market Downturn

Global markets are experiencing a downturn as tensions escalate in the Middle East. The conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen has pushed oil prices higher, affecting global trade.

The US futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 0.2% and 0.7%, respectively. The European markets also followed suit with Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 falling by 0.3% and 0.2%. Britain's FTSE 100 remained nearly unchanged.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 dropped 1.7% due to the surge in the value of the Japanese yen, affecting major exporters like Toyota Motor Corp. and Panasonic Holdings Corp., which fell by 4.1% and 5.8%, respectively.

The US dollar slipped to 153.86 Japanese yen from 154.34 yen on Tuesday. The government's revised economic growth rate for the April-June quarter was reported at 1.4%, up from an earlier estimate of 1.1%. Business investment increased, but overall investment still contracted by 0.9%.

Norihiro Yamaguchi of Oxford Economics noted that 'the boost to consumption from policy measures seen in April-May is already fading, and supply-side-driven inflation will accelerate ahead as firms will pass on increased costs, deteriorating consumers' purchasing power.'