Fears of a military strike against Syria hit markets

MarketWatch (28/8) - NEW YORK — Stocks are down hard, gold is back in bull-market territory and oil is at a six-month high. Tuesday’s market turmoil isn’t all about Syria, but the growing likelihood of a U.S.-led military strike against the regime of Bashar al-Assad certainly added to global market turmoil on Tuesday. Syria’s foreign minister on Tuesday said the country would use “all means available” to defend itself in the event of a U.S. strike. Financial markets began to show alarm Monday afternoon, when U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said there was no doubt the Assad regime’s military had used chemical weapons against civilians last week. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/syria-intervention-fears-hit-global-markets-2013-08-27