• Asian shares retreat, Wall Street gains
  • Oil prices drop on rising output expectations
  • UAE stocks drop on Monday
  • Dollar remains unchanged, gold rises

Global markets

Asian shares dropped in early trading on Tuesday on disappointing Chinese manufacturing data.

Both official and private business surveys pointed to slower Chinese factory growth this month, dashing hopes for a steady reading or even a faster expansion. Data also showed a slower expansion in its services sector, adding to economic uncertainty, a Reuters report said.

MSCI’s broadest gauge of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was off 0.7 percent.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 index finished up 0.11 percent while thee Nasdaq gained 0.19 percent to 8,161.85 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a 0.04 percent gain to 26,554.39.

Oil prices

Oil prices dropped again on Tuesday as investors priced in expected rising output from the United States and OPEC.

United States President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that he had called OPEC and told the cartel to lower crude prices.

Brent crude futures were at $71.75 per barrel at 0131 GMT, down 29 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their last close.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $63.35 per barrel, down 15 cents, or 0.2 percent from their previous settlement.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch said “Iranian oil production will fall to 1.9 million barrels per day in 2H19 from 3.6 million barrels per day in 3Q18 as U.S. sanctions kick in and waivers eventually expire,” a Reuters report showed.

Despite this, the bank said it expected “a nearly balanced market in 2019” as output from OPEC and also the United States will rise.

Middle East markets

Abu Dhabi’s index dropped 0.9 percent on Monday with energy firm Dana Gas dropping 4.1 percent and the largest bank in the United Arab Emirates, First Abu Dhabi Bank, losing 1.2 percent.

Dubai's index slipped 0.6 percent, dragged lower by 7.2 percent decline in Islamic Arab Insurance Company and a 4.3 percent slide in Dubai Islamic Insurance and Reinsurance.

Saudi Arabia's index inched up 0.1 percent, with Saudi British Bank adding 1.6 percent to touch its highest level in four years.

Qatar's blue-chip index declined 0.5 percent. Banking firms Qatar First Bank and Qatar Islamic Bank lost 2.3 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.

Currencies

The dollar was mainly flat on Tuesday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was unchanged, holding at 97.852.

Precious metals

Gold prices rose as investors moved away from equities early on Tuesday following disappointing Chinese manufacturing data.

Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,282.08 per ounce at 0318 GMT. U.S. gold futures were up 0.2 percent at $1,283.90 an ounce.

(Reporting by Gerard Aoun; Editing by Mily Chakrabarty)

(gerard.aoun@refinitiv.com)


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