{"id":48290,"date":"2026-03-02T17:37:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T17:37:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/uncategorized\/bbhs-elias-haddad-says-us-military-action-against-iran-boosted-the-dollar-denting-equities-amid-risk-off-data-focus\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T17:37:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T17:37:13","slug":"bbhs-elias-haddad-says-us-military-action-against-iran-boosted-the-dollar-denting-equities-amid-risk-off-data-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/live-updates\/bbhs-elias-haddad-says-us-military-action-against-iran-boosted-the-dollar-denting-equities-amid-risk-off-data-focus\/","title":{"rendered":"BBH\u2019s Elias Haddad says US military action against Iran boosted the Dollar, denting equities amid risk-off data focus"},"content":{"rendered":"A US-led military operation against Iran has driven risk-off trading, with the US Dollar rising broadly while global equities fell. Gold rose by over 4%, and Brent crude climbed as much as 13%.\n\nMost major sovereign bond yields increased as higher oil prices lifted inflation expectations, outweighing safe-haven demand for bonds. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the US military could continue its assault on Iran for \u201cfour to five weeks\u201d if needed.\n\n

Conflict Duration And Market Direction<\/h3>\nMarket direction may depend on how long the conflict lasts and whether it weakens or removes Iran\u2019s regime. Beyond geopolitics, the next move in the Dollar and risk assets is expected to depend on US economic releases, including this week\u2019s US jobs data.\n\nThe February ISM manufacturing index is due at 3:00pm London time (10:00am New York). The headline reading is forecast at 51.5, down from 52.6 in January, with focus on the Prices Paid and Employment sub-indexes.\n\nThe piece notes it was created with the help of an AI tool and reviewed by an editor. It also describes FXStreet Insights Team content as selected market observations with added internal and external analysis.\n\nMarkets are now in a classic risk-off mode, bracing for geopolitical fallout. We remember the US-led military operation against Iran in early 2025, which provides a clear playbook for the current tensions. The Dollar is rising broadly, while global equities are selling off, mirroring the pattern we saw last year.\n\n

Volatility And Defensive Positioning<\/h3>\nVolatility is the main trade, and we are seeing the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) push above 30, a level not sustained since last year’s conflict. This suggests buying puts on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) for downside protection or straddles to play sharp moves in either direction. The heightened uncertainty makes holding short-volatility positions extremely risky for the next few weeks.\n\nThis environment strongly favors the US Dollar, much like it did throughout 2025. The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) is testing the 106.00 level, and derivative traders should consider call options on the dollar or buying puts on currencies like the Euro or Australian Dollar. These positions benefit directly from safe-haven flows into the United States.\n\nWe are also seeing a significant reaction in commodities, with April delivery Brent crude futures soaring past $98 a barrel due to fears of supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Gold has also surged, breaking above $2,350 per ounce as investors seek a hedge against both conflict and inflation. Long positions in oil and gold futures or call options are logical responses to the ongoing crisis.\n\nBeyond the immediate geopolitical headlines, the broader direction will depend on this week’s US jobs data. We will be paying close attention to Friday’s Non-Farm Payrolls report, with whispers of a number below the 185,000 consensus possibly complicating the Fed’s inflation fight. A strong jobs number, however, would likely add even more fuel to the dollar’s rally.\n\nWe must also be prepared for a rapid reversal if tensions de-escalate, just as risk assets rebounded quickly when last year’s campaign ended. This means it is prudent to look at cheap, out-of-the-money call options on major equity indices. These can serve as a low-cost way to position for a sudden snap-back in market sentiment.\n\nCreate your live VT Markets account<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0start trading<\/a>\u00a0now. <\/b>\n

\n\n

Start trading now – Click here<\/a> to create your real VT Markets account <\/strong> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US-led Iran strikes sparked risk-off: Dollar surged, equities slid, gold jumped 4%, oil 13%, yields rose.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":{"acf_article_selection_author":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48290\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}