Gold prices rose on Monday, attracting some safe haven bids, while oil prices were choppy after Iran's retaliatory attack on Israel over the weekend stoked fears of a wider regional conflict and kept traders on edge for what comes next.
US stock futures ticked higher after major indexes ended sharply lower on Friday as results from major US banks failed to impress.
Iran had, late on Saturday, launched explosive drones and missiles at Israel in retaliation for a suspected Israeli attack on its consulate in Syria on April 1, marking its first direct attack on Israeli territory.
The threat of open warfare erupting between the arch Middle East foes and dragging in the United States has left the region on tenterhooks, as US President Joe Biden warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the US will not take part in a counter-offensive against Iran.
Israel said "the campaign is not over yet".
Global markets struggled for direction early in Asia on Monday after the weekend developments in the Middle East, as oil prices edged broadly lower in volatile trade, gold jumped and the dollar held broadly steady.
Gold rose 0.7% to $2,359.92 an ounce, after having scaled a record of $2,431.29 on Friday. The yellow metal has climbed some 14% for the year thus far.
"Everything seems pretty well contained," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone. "From a very simplistic perspective, the actions from Iran haven't really surprised anyone, they're very much in line with what we were pricing late last week.
"What may be causing a slight move up in the gold price... is the idea that we could see another counter response from Israel, and if that was to happen... that could cause risk (assets) to move down."
