Premarket: Stocks tumble, oil prices jump after Israel attacks Iran

World stock markets tumbled on Friday and oil prices surged as Israel launched a military strike on Iran, sparking a rush into safe havens such as gold, dollar and Swiss franc. An escalation in the Middle East – a major oil-producing region – adds uncertainty to financial markets at a time of heightened pressure on the global economy from U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive and erratic trade policies. Market reaction was swift. Crude oil jumped as much as 14 per cent at one point to almost US$79 a barrel, before pulling back to about US$74 – still up more than…