PHOTO
- Asian shares track Wall Street higher
- Oil prices edge higher
- Saudi, Qatari and Egyptian stocks lead the region
- Dollar, gold prices edge higher
Global markets
Stocks rose on Tuesday after the United States dropped its threat to impose tariffs on Mexico. The two countries struck a deal on Friday to combat illegal migration from Central America.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.65%.
U.S. stocks extended their recent climb overnight on Monday, with the Dow rising for the sixth trading day. Hopes that U.S. interest rates will be cut as early as next week also provided support.
“The lift from the U.S.-Mexico trade development is likely to be a temporary one for the equity markets as the bigger issue between the United States and China remains unresolved,” Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management, told Reuters.
“Nervousness will prevail in the markets until the G20 summit. And there is no guarantee that matters will improve even if the U.S. and Chinese leaders meet at the summit.”
Oil prices
Oil prices edged higher early on Tuesday on expectations that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies will keep withholding supply to prevent prices from tumbling.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and some non-affiliated producers including Russia, is due to meet in late June or early July to decide output policy for the rest of the year.
Russia on Monday said it might support an extension of supply cuts that have been in place since January.
Front-month Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $62.36 at 0023 GMT, 7 cents, or 0.1%, above Friday’s close.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $53.42 per barrel, 16 cents, or 0.3%, above their last settlement.
Middle East markets
Saudi's index rose 1.7% on Monday as National Commercial Bank jumped 3.6% and biggest petrochemical maker Saudi Basic Industries added 2.6%.
In Dubai, the index gained 0.9%. The emirate's blue-chip developer Emaar Properties rose 1.6% and its unit Emaar Malls increased 4.3%.
Abu Dhabi's index was up 0.8%, lifted by Aldar Properties, which rose 2.8%, and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) FAB.AD, which increased 1.5%.
Qatar's index rose 2% as the Middle East's largest lender Qatar National Bank climbed 3.8% and Qatar Islamic Bank was up 2.3% ahead of a split of their stocks taking effect later this week.
Egypt's blue-chip index rose 1.7 percent, with 27 of its 30 stocks gaining and the country's largest lender Commercial International Bank adding 1.9%.
Kuwait’s premier market index added 1.1 percent, Bahrain’s index added 0.4 percent and Oman’s index rose 0.5 percent.
Currencies
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies edged up 0.05% to 96.799 on Tuesday, building on a 0.2% gain achieved overnight.
Precious metals
Gold prices edged higher on Tuesday.
Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1328.77 as of 0137 GMT.
U.S. gold futures were 0.3% higher at $1,333.40 an 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
