• Asian shares mainly unchanged on Tuesday
  • Oil prices edge lower on Russian minister comments
  • Abu Dhabi’s index rises to a near five-year high
  • Dollar edges higher, gold drops

Global markets

Shares on Wall Street dropped overnight following disappointing bank earnings. Meanwhile, Asian shares were mainly unchanged early on Tuesday following previous sessions of gains.

The banking sector fell for the first time in four sessions, down 0.75%, dragged lower by a 3.2% tumble in Goldman Sachs Group and a 0.7% dip in Citigroup after the banks missed revenue estimates.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed by mid-morning.

“The equity markets are facing some headwinds after their recent large gains,” Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management, told Reuters.

“That said, market sentiment is still relatively well supported as recent Chinese indicators proved to be strong and prompted the markets to readjust their views on the global economy.”

Oil prices

Oil prices edged lower on Tuesday, but concerns over global supplies kept prices well supported.

Brent crude oil futures were at $71.08 a barrel at 0111 GMT, down 10 cents, or 0.1 percent, from their last close. Brent ended down 0.5 percent on Monday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $63.39 per barrel, down 2 cents, or 0.1 percent, from their previous settlement. WTI fell 0.8 percent on Monday.

“There is a growing concern that Russia will not agree on extending production cuts and we could see them officially abandon it in the coming months,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst, OANDA, told Reuters.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said over the weekend that Russia and OPEC may decide to boost production to fight for market share.

Middle East markets

Abu Dhabi’s index gained 0.9 percent on Monday, to hover near five-year highs as shares in First Abu Dhabi Bank, the United Arab Emirates' largest lender, climbed 2.4 percent to 16 dirhams, touching an all-time high.

In Dubai, the index rose 0.6 percent, supported by a 5.3 percent gain in Dubai Investments and a 1.4 percent rise in Dubai Islamic Bank.

The Saudi index added 0.4 percent as Saudi Basic Industries gained 1.1 percent and Riyad Bank advanced 2.1 percent.

Qatar's index edged 0.1 percent lower, as Qatar Electricity And Water shed 2.4 percent after its first-quarter net profit fell nearly 22 percent.

Egypt's blue-chip index inched down 0.1 percent, slipping for the third straight session, with investment firm Egypt Kuwait Holding falling 1 percent.

Kuwait’s premier market index edged 0.2 percent higher, Bahrain’s index edged 0.3 percent lower while Oman’s index gained 0.5 percent.

Currencies

The dollar edged higher early on Tuesday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was last at 96.980 after ending the previous session basically unchanged.

Precious metals

Gold prices dropped again on Tuesday as the dollar strengthened.

Spot gold was down 0.1 percent at $1,286.38 per ounce, as of 0120 GMT. In the previous session, the bullion dropped to $1,281.96, its weakest since April 4.

U.S. gold futures shed about 0.2 percent at $1,289.20 an ounce.

(Reporting by Gerard Aoun; Editing by Mily Chakrabarty)

(gerard.aoun@refinitiv.com)


Gain a deeper understanding of financial markets through Thomson Reuters Eikon

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