Opening Call: The Australian share market is to open higher.
U.S stocks were lower, with tech shares leading the way. The 10-year Treasury note yield was down to 1.60%. The WSJ Dollar Index was down 0.45% to 85.98. Oil prices gained as traders mulled demand cues and supply prospects. Gold prices ended lower after the biggest weekly rise since December.
Australian Market
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index closed flat as gains by its cornerstone materials and financial sectors were offset by losses elsewhere. The benchmark finished just 2.1 points higher after leading by 31.3 early in the session, inching to a fresh 14-month high.
US Market
U.S. stocks slipped, backing away from the records they notched at the end of last week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%. The S&P 500 lost 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 1%. Technology and consumer-discretionary stocks led declines, weighing down major indexes.
The Nikkei Stock Average ended up 0.01% as concerns about the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic dragged railway and airline stocks, offsetting gains in semiconductor-related stocks.
Commodities
Gold futures finished lower, giving back a portion of recent gains after posting the biggest weekly climb since December.
June gold lost $9.60, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,770.60 an ounce. The metal ended Friday with a weekly rise of about 2%, marking its biggest weekly advance since the period ended Dec. 18, 2020, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Oil Futures
Oil futures gained, finding some support from reports of a production halt at some Libyan oil fields, as traders mulled the latest signals for crude demand outlook, as well as prospects for global supplies.
West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery rose 25 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $63.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. June Brent crude, the global benchmark, added 28 cents, or 0.4%, at $67.14 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.
Forex
Major currencies were stronger against the US dollar in European and US trade. The Euro rose from lows near US$1.1960 to highs near US$1.2045 and was near US$1.2035 at the US close. The
The Aussie dollar rose from lows near US77.35 cents to highs near US77.85 cents and was near US77.55 cents at the US close. And the Japanese yen rose from 108.55 yen per US dollar to JPY108.00 and was near JPY108.15 at the US close
European Markets
European sharemarkets eased on Monday. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell by 0.1% from record highs. The auto & parts sector led the losses, down 1.6%, while technology shares fell by
1.2%. Shares in Italy’s Juventus lifted 18% after top European football clubs, including Juventus FC, announced a breakaway competition. Investors are focussed on the earnings or profitreporting season. First-quarter earnings for companies listed on the STOXX 600 are expected to lift more than 55% after a near 40% slide in the year-earlier quarter, according to Refinitiv IBES data. The
German Dax index lost 0.6% on Monday, also from record levels. The UK FTSE 100 index also fell on Monday, down by 0.3%. In London trade shares in Rio Tinto rose by 0.6% while shares in BHP fell by 1.0%.
Asian Markets
The Nikkei Stock Average ended up 0.01% as concerns about the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic dragged railway and airline stocks, offsetting gains in semiconductor-related stocks.
China’s major stock benchmarks ended the session sharply higher, as auto shares soared when investor sentiment got a boost from Huawei’s release of its first-ever car model over the weekend.
The Shanghai Composite rose 1.5% while the Shenzhen Composite Index was up 2.4% and the ChiNext Price Index soared 4.1%.