Wall Street tumbles over 500 points amid geopolitical tensions

US stock indices slumped on Friday amid surging geopolitical tensions in the Middle East after Israel’s extensive air strikes against Iranian targets.

Israel targeted Iranian nuclear and military facilities, in addition to army commanders and scientists, adding that it’s only the start of a prolonged operation. 

The VIX fear index on Wall Street surged 13.45% to 20.44, with a surge as well in both oil and gold prices. 

On trading, Dow Jones fell 1.1% as of 16:16 GMT, or 512 points to 42,470 points, while S&P 500 shed 0.7%, or 40 points to 6005 points, as NASDAQ gave up 0.8%, or 160 points to 19,500 points.