The week opened with sharp losses on global markets, as investors reacted to the weekend military strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran. The shockwaves were felt from Athens to Asia, sending equities lower while oil, natural gas and gold prices surged.

At the Athens Stock Exchange, trading began with a steep decline of 3.7%, mirroring the downturn across Asian and European markets. Early transactions pushed the General Index down abruptly to 2,192 points, marking a drop of 3.75%.

Across Europe, shares also opened firmly in negative territory. The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 1.73%, with losses recorded in every sector except oil and gas, which moved higher on the back of surging energy prices.

Oil markets reacted immediately to the heightened geopolitical risk. Brent crude and U.S. crude were trading between $72 and $80 per barrel, with analysts at Barclays warning that prices could spike as high as $100 per barrel if tensions escalate further. Natural gas followed suit, gaining 5% amid concerns over supply disruptions.

European gas prices soared even more dramatically as military operations threatened liquefied natural gas exports from the Gulf region, particularly from Qatar. At the open, Dutch TTF natural gas futures jumped 20%, after earlier surging as much as 22% to 38.885 euros per megawatt hour.

U.S. equity futures pointed to further weakness before the opening bell, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 627 points (1.27%), S&P 500 futures off 91 points (1.32%), and Nasdaq-100 futures falling 442 points (1.71%).

Asian markets also closed lower, hit by sharp losses in airline stocks amid Middle East airspace disruptions and airport closures.

In Europe, losses were broad-based at the open: Paris -1.85%, Frankfurt -1.92%, Milan -2.11%, and London -0.93%, reflecting widespread investor concern over rising geopolitical tensions.