The global economy entered a new and complex phase of geopolitical and financial uncertainty, after US President Donald Trump dropped a heavy political bomb from the Turkish capital Ankara during his participation in the NATO summit. This came with his official and final declaration of ending the war and canceling the memorandum of understanding and temporary truce signed with Tehran to end the Gulf conflict, describing any new efforts to negotiate or deal with the Iranian leadership as 'mere folly and waste of time,' while warning that Washington may begin serious and open military options to respond to the targeting of commercial navigation.

This sudden dramatic shift, accompanied by Washington's threat to launch wide and new military strikes, caused a severe logistical and financial shock to the global economy; oil prices immediately jumped more than 7 percent to breach the $79 per barrel mark, threatening to freeze two years of gains in fighting inflation and undermining hopes for monetary policy easing.

In contrast, Wall Street and European and Asian indices turned red with a mass flight of investors to safe havens, placing the renewed conflict in the Strait of Hormuz on the brink of a volcano for the entire global economy, as the International Monetary Fund warned again that the continuation of this bleeding would force it to cut further into global growth rates, which are timidly stable at 3 percent.

Traders working on the New York Stock Exchange (AP)

Oil market on fire: Trump's sharp remarks re-ignited fears of a complete and prolonged blockage of the global energy artery in the Strait of Hormuz, which traders immediately translated into panic buying that raised prices wildly. Brent crude strengthened, rising 7.4 percent to settle at $79.64 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude followed with a gain of nearly 7.3 percent to reach $75.58 per barrel.

Although these levels are still below the peak of $120 recorded at the start of the conflict, their rapid surge of between 25 percent and 32 percent compared to pre-war levels has re-injected inflation risks into bond markets.

Compounding the sensitivity of oil fears were official data released this week, which revealed that US strategic petroleum reserves fell to their lowest level since 1983, depriving the global economy of any maneuvering room to absorb the inevitable upcoming shocks in the event of a full naval blockade.

Selling wave hits stocks: Global stock exchanges received the US military threats of night-time land and sea strikes against Iran with an immediate tremor, triggering a broad sell-off of high-risk assets. New York opened sharply lower; the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost about 1 percent of its value (equivalent to 514 points), followed by the broader S&P 500 index by 0.46 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq by 0.31 percent.

In Europe, Paris and Frankfurt markets fell by harsh rates of 1.8 percent, while London dropped 1.2 percent. In Asia, Seoul's KOSPI index led the declines with a violent drop exceeding 5 percent.

Airlines and cruise lines were the direct victims of the sudden spike in fuel prices; United Airlines shares fell 3.2 percent and Delta 1.9 percent. Cruise operators such as Carnival also plunged 3 percent due to fears of evaporating profit margins and rising operating costs.

The energy crisis coincided with increased investor skepticism about the high valuations of the semiconductor and artificial intelligence sectors; Samsung Electronics shares continued their decline for the second consecutive day at a rate of 6 percent in Seoul, despite announcing a massive 19-fold profit jump, amid real fears of slowing demand for memory chips in the second half of the year. In contrast, US Broadcom shares survived with a 3 percent gain, supported by a huge $30 billion supply deal with Apple, partially offsetting the tech-heavy Nasdaq's losses.

Dealers talk near screens showing foreign exchange rates in a trading room of Hana Bank in Seoul (AP)

Yen wobbles, dollar seeks safety: The foreign exchange markets were not isolated from this shock; the tone of war realigned traders' priorities towards holding the US currency as a safe haven in times of crisis.

The US dollar index maintained its relative stability against a basket of major currencies, moving around 101.1 points, supported by expectations of keeping interest rates higher for longer to curb potential oil-driven inflation.

In contrast, the Japanese currency continued to wobble; the yen hovered around 162.49 yen per dollar, affected by the vast gap in bond yields between Washington and Tokyo, approaching its historic low in nearly 40 years, putting additional pressure on the Bank of Japan to intervene in markets.

Experts and strategic analysts agreed that international markets are now completely at the mercy of sharp and violent fluctuations due to 'geopolitical opacity' resulting from continuous tactical shifts in the current US administration's positions. Analysts at financial groups see that the biggest fear lies not in the current momentary decline in stock prices, but in the possibility of the cancellation of the truce turning into a complete diplomatic rupture leading to a return of an open and comprehensive 'oil tanker war' that forces international powers to impose a mutual naval blockade.