US STOCKS-Futures slip as Iran's attack on U.S. forces heightens Middle East tensions

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* Iran fires rockets at Iraqi bases hosting U.S. forces
* U.S. not aware of casualties from the attack - official
* Trump to make statement on Wednesday
* Prices of oil, gold soar; U.S. Treasury yields dip
* Futures off: Dow 0.31%, S&P 0.11%, Nasdaq 0.24%

(Adds comments, details; updates prices)
By Sagarika Jaisinghani
Jan 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell early on
Wednesday as investors scurried to safe-haven assets after Iran
fired rockets at U.S.-led forces in Iraq in response to the
killing of a top Iranian commander, sparking fears of a wider
war in the Middle East.
Iran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles on at least
two Iraqi facilities hosting U.S.-led coalition personnel, as
the burial of Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone
attack on Friday, was concluding. The retaliation shook global financial markets, with S&P
futures .EScv1 tumbling as much as 1.7% and the benchmark U.S.
10-year Treasury yield falling to a one-month low. Stock markets
in Europe were also indicated lower. MKTS/GLOB
Oil and gold prices surged by about 5% and 2%, respectively,
before receding slightly as Iranian officials said that their
country did not want a war and the strikes "concluded" its
response to Soleimani's killing. O/R GOL/
President Donald Trump said in a tweet an assessment of
casualties and damage was under way and that he would make a
statement on Wednesday morning. A U.S. official said the United
States was not aware of any casualties from the strikes.
Some analysts said the attacks could provide investors an
excuse to pull back from equities after improving global
sentiment and an imminent U.S.-China trade truce recently
propelled the benchmark S&P 500 to record highs.
"We've had three months of asymmetric upward moves in the
equity markets," said Christopher Stanton, chief investment
officer at San Diego-based Sunrise Capital LLC.
"Things have become increasingly overbought. If you're an
investor, don't you want to take it easy here and back off a
bit?"
At 2:31 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 88 points,
or 0.31%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 3.5 points, or 0.11%
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were down 21.25 points, or 0.24%.
Investor attention this month will also be on the Federal
Reserve's first policy meeting for 2020, where it is widely
expected to keep interest rates unchanged after three reductions
last year.