EQUITIES
Asia-Pacific stocks mostly slipped in Monday trade. In mainland China, the Shanghai composite slipped 0.38% by the afternoon while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 0.54%. Elsewhere, the Nikkei 225 in Japan shed 0.25% while the KOSPI in South Korea and Singapore’s Straits Times index traded fractionally lower.
Shares in Australia outperformed, with the S&P/ASX 200 advancing 0.26%, as well as the S&P BSE Sensex in India that traded 0.80% higher.
European stocks are expected to open around the flatline on Monday as investors weigh corporate earnings against concerns about inflation and the economic recovery.
OIL
Energy prices extended their advance amid a global energy shortage, with U.S. crude at a fresh seven-year high and Brent at a three-year high.
Shares of oil companies also advanced in Monday trade, with Australia’s Beach Energy up 2.08% while Santos climbed 0.54%. In Japan, Inpex’s stock surged 5.19%. Hong Kong-listed shares of CNOOC also gained 1.15%.
The Brent now traded at $85.79 per barrel, and U.S. crude futures traded at $83.49 per barrel.
On Friday last week, the Brent ends at $84.86 a barrel, and the WTI settled at $82.28 per barrel.
CURRENCIES
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes rose as high as 1.593% on Monday, heading back towards the four-month high of 1.6310% hit early Tuesday, before a wobble put it steady at 1.588%.
The greenback was little changed against a basket its peers at 94.111, off its one-year high of 94.563 hit last Monday.
Bitcoin pushed above $62,000, not far from its all-time high of $64,895 hit in April. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to allow the first American bitcoin futures ETF to begin trading this week, a move likely to lead to wider investment in digital assets.
GOLD
Gold prices edged up on Monday, recouping some losses after a steep sell-off in the previous session as U.S. bond yields and the dollar softened, restoring some of the precious metal's appeal.
Spot gold rose to $1,768.60 per ounce, and U.S. gold futures were up to trade at $1,768.80.
Spot silver rose to $23.36 per ounce, while platinum eased 0.42% to $1,054.50 and palladium fell 0.58% to $2,064.50.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Asian shares were on edge on Monday, as investors reacted to the release of key Chinese growth data for September, which grew slower than expected, as well as broader investor concerns about the global economic recovery.
China's GDP grew 4.9% in July-September from a year earlier, the weakest pace since the third quarter of 2020, as China grappled with power shortages, supply bottlenecks and sporadic COVID-19 outbreaks. Investors were also cautious on rising uncertainty on the Chinese economy as debt-laden Chinese property firm Evergrande struggles for its survival.
A number of big names are set to report earnings in the coming week, including AT&T Inc., Barclays, Johnson & Johnson, Netflix, United Airlines, P&G, Verizon, IBM, and Tesla.
