It's often more important in times of heightened tensions in the Middle East to look more at what is not happening, rather than fixating on the dramatic headlines of tit-for-tat air and missile strikes between Israel and Iran.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly demanded the Federal Reserve slash interest rates. But Fed officials have stood pat, waiting to see how his administration’s sweeping policy changes affect the economy first.

Oil prices leaped, and stocks slumped on worries that escalating violence following Israel’s attack on Iranian nuclear and military targets could damage the flow of crude around the world, along with the global economy.

The Indian rupee is expected to slip past 86 to the U.S. dollar at the open on Friday, hit by surging oil prices and sliding risk assets after Israel attacked targets in Iran.

The country’s exports mostly come from Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf. But Israel’s energy facilities are also at risk.

The Israeli military warns Iranians to evacuate arms factories, signaling what could be a further widening of the campaign.

The US ordered some staff to leave its embassy in Baghdad, and restricted government employees and family members in Israel from traveling outside major cities like Tel Aviv. Around the same time, risk warnings from naval forces were issued to vessels operating in and around the Persian Gulf,

U.S. investors on Friday sought refuge in safe-haven assets like the dollar and gold, as oil prices surged after Iran retaliated against Israel's biggest-ever military strike against the major crude producer.