US stock futures dived on Friday and oil prices surged after Israel conducted a military strike on Iran, rattling investors and sparking a shift towards safe havens such as gold.

The escalation in hostilities in the Middle East - a major oil-producing region - adds a fresh layer of uncertainty for financial markets at a time of heightened pressure on the global economy from U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive and erratic trade policies.

U.S. S&P 500 futures slumped 1.2% and Nasdaq futures dropped 1.3%. Dow futures tumbled 1.2%.

Big tech stocks sank in premarket trading on Friday. Super Micro, Tesla fell 3%; Nvidia, AMD, Micron, TSMC, Alphabet, and Amazon fell 2%; Meta, Microsoft, and Apple fell 1%.

Volatility ETFs rose in premarket trading on Friday. ProShares Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF up 6%; 2X Long VIX Futures ETF up 8%.

WTI crude rose 5.3% and global benchmark Brent rose 5.4% on potential supply disruptions as tensions ratcheted higher in the Mideast.

Oil stocks rose in premarket trading on Friday. Houston American up 75%; Devon up 6%; Occidental up 5%; Exxon Mobil up 4%; Chevron up 3%; BP up 2%.

Gold climbed as high as $3,444.06 per ounce, bringing it close to the record high of $3,500.05 from April.

Gold stocks rose in premarket trading on Friday. Equinox Gold, Kinross up 2%; Harmony Gold up 0.5%.

Defense stocks surged in premarket trading on Friday. RTX, Lockheed Martin up 5%; L3Harris up 3%.