Wall Street is set to open virtually unchanged on Friday morning, with investors showing no signs of giving in to anxiety despite Israeli air strikes against Iran.

Half an hour before the opening, futures contracts on the main New York indices are all virtually flat, suggesting a balanced start to the session.

Overnight, Israel bombed the central Iranian city of Isfahan, home to several military centers, more than six days after Teheran attacked its territory.

However, investors were reassured by statements from the Iranian armed forces' general staff, who sought to play down the scale of the retaliation.

'This could indicate that the attack was rather moderate in intensity', point out analysts at London-based research firm Capital Economics.

In a sign of the markets' moderate reaction, oil prices are back on the decline after hitting six-month highs overnight, with US light crude (WTI) currently giving up 0.3% at under 82.5 dollars.

Investors were also reassured by the easing in the bond market, which seems to be playing its role as a safe asset in the face of geopolitical tensions, with the yield on ten-year paper falling back to 4.60%.

Gold is also benefiting from its safe-haven status, continuing to trade not far from its all-time highs of nearly 2,400 dollars an ounce.

From a technical standpoint, investors are watching with concern the evolution of the S&P 500, which could post a sixth consecutive session of declines today, a feat not seen since October 2022.

For the week as a whole, the benchmark index for US fund managers is currently down 3.6% and heading for a third straight week of declines.

No economic indicators on the agenda today.

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