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- Asian shares drop ahead of key events
- Oil prices edge lower on economic outlook concerns
- UAE stock markets rose on Monday
- Dollar edges lower, gold prices inch higher
Global markets
Asian shares retreated in early trading on Tuesday as investors were cautious ahead of the start of the U.S. earnings season and a crucial Brexit summit.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was basically flat after brushing its highest since late August last year during the previous session.
Wall Street shares delivered a mixed performance on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 0.3 percent while the S&P 500 added 0.1 percent.
“The market is very much in a wait-and-watch mode,” Nick Twidale, chief operating officer at Rakuten Securities Australia in Sydney, told Reuters.
“It’s looking for the next catalyst that’s hopefully going to take stock markets higher, but it’s also very wary that we’ve had such a great run in stocks and general growth that we might see a real sharp correction,” he said.
Oil prices
Oil prices dropped from five-month highs reached earlier in the session.
International benchmark Brent futures touched their strongest level since last November at $71.34 per barrel on Tuesday, before losing ground to $70.96 per barrel by 0158 GMT, down 14 cents, or 0.2 percent, from their last close.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures also hit a November 2018 high, at $64.77 per barrel, before easing to $64.36, 4 cents below their last settlement.
While fears of a global recession ebbed following strong U.S. jobs figures and improved Chinese manufacturing data late last week, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said there was still a “significant slowing in growth globally” in 2019, according to a Reuters report.
Middle East markets
Dubai’s index rose 0.6 percent on Monday as Dubai Islamic Bank added 1.6 percent and Emaar Properties closed 1.4 percent higher.
The Abu Dhabi index was up 0.5 percent, led by a 2.5 percent gain in Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, and a 2.7 rise in Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.
Saudi Arabia's index closed 0.3 percent higher with National Commercial Bank, the country's largest lender by assets, gaining 2.3 percent.
The Qatari index added 0.3 percent as Qatar National Bank gained 1.2 percent.
Egypt’s blue-chip index EGX30 edged 0.2 percent lower, Kuwait’s premier market index dropped 0.3 percent while Bahrain’s index gained 0.4 percent and Oman’s index was mainly flat.
Currencies
The dollar edged lower early on Tuesday.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, inched down 0.05 percent to 97.001.
Precious metals
Gold prices edged higher on Tuesday.
Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,299.34 per ounce as of 0101 GMT, after touching its highest since March 28 at $1,303.61 in the previous session.
U.S. gold futures gained 0.1 percent to $1,302.80 an ounce.
(Reporting by Gerard Aoun; Editing by Mily Chakrabarty)
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