PHOTO
- Asian shares drop as Chinese stocks weigh
- Oil prices drop on demand concerns
- Saudi Arabia’s index drops 1.6 percent
- Dollar drops, gold gains
Global markets
Asian shares retreated in early trading on Tuesday as investors await anxiously to see if anything comes of the trade talks between the United States and China later this week.
Shanghai blue chips slipped 1.8%, leading MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 0.4%.
Wall Street had been just as cautious overnight with the Dow ending Monday up 0.03%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.17% and the Nasdaq 0.32%.
According to a Reuters report, there are no less than five Fed policy makers speaking on Tuesday, including Chair Jerome Powell, and markets assume they will stick with the recent dovish message.
“It’s always possible the chair could walk back some of the market’s dovish interpretation of last week’s FOMC meeting...but we suspect he will reinforce the message laid out last week,” Kevin Cummins, a senior U.S. economist at NatWest Markets, told Reuters.
“By the end of July, we believe the Fed will have seen enough to decide that action to counter downside economic risks and low inflation/inflation expectations is warranted, and so we look for a 25 basis point rate cut at the next FOMC meeting.”
Oil prices
Oil prices dropped early on Tuesday amid demand concerns, but the drop was limited as investors cautiously monitor tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
Weak manufacturing data released on Monday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas added to worries about slipping demand for crude oil.
Benchmark Brent crude futures were down 57 cents, or 0.9%, at $64.29 a barrel by 0342 GMT. They dropped 0.5% on Monday.
U.S. crude futures were down 58 cents, or 1%, at $57.32 a barrel. The U.S. benchmark rose 0.8% in the previous session.
Middle East markets
Saudi Arabia’s index fell 1.6 percent on Monday. Al Rajhi Bank dropped 2.3%, while the kingdom's biggest petrochemical maker Saudi Basic Industries was down 2.7%.
In Dubai, the index closed unchanged from previous session but most property stocks rose with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties climbing 1.6%.
Abu Dhabi’s index gained 0.5 percent with First Abu Dhabi Bank, the United Arab Emirates' largest lender, adding 1.1%.
Qatar's index fell 0.4%, pushed down by banks, with the market heavyweight lender Qatar National Bank slipping 1.4% and Qatar Islamic Bank shedding 1.7%.
Egypt's blue-chip index lost 1.1%, Kuwait’s premier market index added 0.4 percent while Bahrain’s index edged down 0.1 percent and Oman’s index dropped 0.3 percent.
Currencies
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell to its lowest level in three months to 95.943, having lost 1.7% during the latest five sessions.
Precious metals
Gold prices rose on a weaker dollar.
Spot gold was up 0.4% at $1,424.35 per ounce as of 0100 GMT.
U.S. gold futures rose 0.8% to $1,429.40 per ounce.
Reporting by Gerard Aoun; Editing by Mily Chakrabarty)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. The content does not provide tax, legal or investment advice or opinion regarding the suitability, value or profitability of any particular security, portfolio or investment strategy. Read our full disclaimer policy here.
© ZAWYA 2019
