EQUITIES
Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Monday trade as investors reacted to the latest Chinese economic data for October.
Mainland Chinese stocks were lower, with the Shanghai composite slipping around 0.30% while the Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index sat 0.08% lower. The losses came despite Chinese economic data coming in better than expected.
Elsewhere, South Korea’s KOSPI climbed 1.05%, leading gains among the region’s major markets. The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.42%, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia gained 0.28%, the S&P BSE Sensex in India rose 0.16%, and the Singapore’s Straits Times index added 0.20%
Wall Street eased last week to break a string of gains, though the major indices were only a shade off all-time highs.
European markets expected to start the week on a higher note, as global investors assessed recent high inflation prints and corporate earnings.
OIL
Oil prices reversed early gains on Monday, under pressure from expectations of higher supplies and weakening demand.
Oil prices had a tougher week, hit by a strengthening dollar and speculation that President Joe Biden's administration might release oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
The Brent now traded at $81.48 per barrel, and U.S. crude futures traded at $81.18 per barrel.
On Friday last week, the Brent ends at $82.17 a barrel, and the WTI settled at $80.79 per barrel.
CURRENCIES
The dollar eased back from near an almost 16-month high versus major peers on Monday, as traders awaited fresh clues from the Federal Reserve on the back of red-hot inflation. The dollar index eased 0.11% to 95.009 from Friday, when it posted its biggest weekly gain since mid-August and touched 95.266 for the first time since July 2020.
Bond yields also ticked down, with the 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield slipped 2.4 basis points to 1.560%.
GOLD
Gold prices eased on Monday, though still hovering just below the five-month high touched Friday. Spot gold was down 0.36% at $1,858.50 per ounce, and U.S. gold futures dropped 0.38% to $1,861.40.
Silver and platinum fell 1.10% to $25.06 and $1,077.10 per ounce, and palladium shed 1.43% to $2,087.50.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Asian shares edged higher on Monday following surprises in a batch of Chinese economic data, with annual growth in retail sales and industrial output both handily beating forecasts.
The China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed retail sales rose 4.9% year-on-year in October, beating expectations for 3.5% growth and after a 4.4% increase in September. Industrial output for the month also grew 3.5% in October from the same period a year ago, accelerating from a 3.1% increase in September. However, on a negative note for the stressed housing market, new home prices in China fell 0.2% month-on-month in October, the biggest decline since February 2015.
The U.S. also will release its retail sales, on Tuesday.
An international agreement to reduce coal use dragged Asian coal shares lower on Monday. The Glasgow deal has prompted promises of future cuts to use, has resolved rules for carbon markets and also takes aim at fossil fuel subsidies -all of which could speed up the transition to other energy sources.
Investors will also be watching any comments coming out of a virtual summit between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden on November 15.
