DAILY MARKET NEWS

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EQUITIES

Asian share markets open cautious on Monday, as Japan's Nikkei 225 down -0.31%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng loss -0.09%. Meanwhile, China's Shanghai Composite up 0.09% and South Korea’s KOSPI up 1.00%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 up 0.22%, and Singapore’s up 0.08% in early trading.

OIL

Oil prices little changed in the morning of Asian trading hours. Brent crude futures traded to $43.34 a barrel, while U.S. crude at $41.32.

On Friday, Brent closed at $43.34 per barrel, while WTI futures ended at $41.29 per barrel.

CURRENCIES

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 93.93 after slipping from levels above 96 last week.

The Japanese yen traded at 105.63 per dollar after strengthening sharply late last week from levels above 106.5 against the greenback. The Australian dollar edged ahead in spite of a rise in local coronavirus cases, climbing to $0.7134.

The dollar began the week under pressure from all corners as intensifying Sino-U.S. tensions added to worries that the coronavirus resurgence in United States could undermine the recovery in the world’s biggest economy.

GOLD

Gold rose for a fifth straight session breaching $1,900, as U.S.-China tensions increased bullion’s safe-haven appeal.

Gold trading at $1,931.30 per ounce, while stands around $1,927.80 per ounce for gold futures. Previously closed at $1,901.30 and $1,897.50, respectively.

Silver trading at $24.04, platinum trading at $931.00 and palladium trading at $2,087.00.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Asia markets mostly traded higher Monday morning as investors continue to watch for developments on issues such as the coronavirus pandemic.

China’s industrial profits for June soared 11.5% YoY, according to the country’s National Bureau of Statistics.

The Bank of Japan’s Summary of Opinions for its mid-July meeting, released Monday, said the country’s economy is expected to “pick up moderately” from the second half of 2020. The central bank warned, however, that the economy is “unlikely to return to the level reached before the outbreak of COVID-19″ even in fiscal 2022.

Market mover today likely be on lawmakers stateside as they attempt to push forward on another coronavirus stimulus package. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday that Republicans have finalized a bill worth about $1 trillion in coronavirus relief funds.

U.S.-China tensions also expected continued to be monitored by investors.

To date, number of confirmed worldwide cases for COVID-19 pandemic has surpassed 16.414 million affecting 213 countries and territories around the world and 2 international conveyances, recording more than 652 thousand fatality globally.