EQUITIES
Asia-Pacific markets rebounded from last week’s slump. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 led the gain, rose 2.13% as the index attempted to recover from its nearly 4% plunge on Friday. The Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 1.74%, the India’s S&P BSE Sensex index rose 1.70%, and the Singapore’s Straits Times index up 0.92%.
Mainland Chinese stocks were also higher, as the Shanghai composite gained 0.61% while the Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 1.28%.
South Korea’s markets are closed on Monday for a holiday.
OIL
Oil prices are pushing higher due to the passing of the U.S. stimulus bill in Congress, though investors are cautious ahead of the OPEC meeting later this week.
The international benchmark Brent crude futures traded to $65.47 per barrel, while the U.S. crude futures at $62.49 per barrel.
On Friday, the Brent close at $64.42, while WTI futures ended lower at $61.50 per barrel.
CURRENCIES
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, rebound to 90.80 from a 7-week low of 89.67.
The riskier currencies recovered some lost ground against the U.S. dollar on Monday, after suffering their biggest plunges in a year at the end of last week amid a hefty sell-off in global bond markets.
The Aussie dollar rose 0.6% to 77.52 U.S. cents, and the New Zealand dollar strengthened 0.6% to $0.7272, recovering some of Friday’s 1.9% slide.
GOLD
Gold prices rose more than 1% on Monday, recovering from a more than 8-month low touched in the previous session.
The spot gold traded at $1,751.40 an ounce, while rose around $1,749.80 per ounce for gold futures. Previously closed at $1,735.60 and $1,728.80, respectively.
Silver at $26.85 an ounce. Platinum at $1,213.00, while palladium at $2,260.00.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Stocks in Asia-Pacific traded higher on Monday, as bond yields fell, while progress in the huge U.S. stimulus package underpinned optimism about the global economy.
Yields on U.S. 10-year notes held at 1.403% from last week’s peak of 1.61%. They climbed 11 basis points last week to be up 50 basis points on the year so far. Prices move inversely to yields.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package over the weekend. The bill will now head to the Senate, where Biden will need to get Republican support or avoid losing a single Democratic vote.
The OPEC+ will meet on Thursday and could discuss allowing as much as 1.5 million bpd of crude back in the market.
To date, number of confirmed worldwide cases for COVID-19 pandemic has surpassed 114.067 million, recording more than 2.530 million fatality globally.
TECHNICAL OUTLOOK
[USDJPY]
Important Levels to Watch for Today:
- Resistance line of 106.652 and 106.801.
- Support line of 105.354 and 105.205.
Commentary/ Reason:
The dollar held at 106.545, not far from its 6-month top touched earlier today.
Higher U.S. yields combined with the general shift to safety helped the dollar to advance against the Japanese yen on Monday.
The progression of dollar whoever, capped as Japan's COVID-19 state of emergency was lifted in six prefectures outside the Tokyo region, while Japan’s manufacturing PMI also marked the fastest expansion since December 2018 on Monday. An easing of the pandemic in the Japan is seen as supportive for the yen.
