EQUITIES
Shares in Asia were mixed in the first trading day of 2022. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed earlier gains and fell into negative territory, declining 0.65% by the afternoon.
Elsewhere, South Korea’s KOSPI gained 0.35% while over in Southeast Asia, the Straits Times index climbed 0.23%.
Markets in Australia, mainland China and Japan are closed on Monday for a holiday.
OIL
Oil prices firmed on Monday with suppliers in focus ahead of Tuesday's OPEC+ meeting, although concerns over surging COVID-19 cases continued to dent demand sentiment.
The Brent now traded at $78.28 per barrel, and U.S. crude futures traded at $75.75 per barrel.
On Friday last week, the Brent futures ends at $77.78 a barrel, while the WTI crude oil prices closed to $75.21 per barrel.
CURRENCIES
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 95.91 after recently falling from above 95.7.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes was 1.481 on Monday, after ended 2021 last week with the largest yield increase since 2013.
GOLD
Gold prices held steady on Monday as higher U.S. Treasury yields offset safe-haven buying sentiment due to an Omicron-driven surge in COVID-19 infections globally.
Spot gold remained mostly unchanged at $1,825.00 per ounce, while the U.S. gold futures at $1,826.10.
Spot silver shed 0.60% to $23.21 an ounce, platinum flat at $965.70 and palladium slipped 0.70% to $1,899.00.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Shares in Asia were mixed on Monday as trading in 2022 kicked off, with some major markets in the region closed. Market sentiment was clouded by the ongoing assessment of the Omicron COVID-19 variant impact.
Trading in the shares and structured products of debt-ridden Chinese developer China Evergrande Group was halted in Hong Kong on Monday, according to an exchange notice. No immediate reason was given for the halt. Hong Kong-listed shares of Evergrande-related firms were mixed. China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group soared 9.09% while Evergrande Property Services slipped 0.38%.
Other property stocks in Hong Kong also declined, with shares of Country Garden falling 2.02% while Sunac plunged 8.32%. The Hang Seng Properties index traded 0.57% lower.
The first trading week of 2022 will include an important OPEC+ meeting, the release of the minutes from the last FOMC meeting and the December jobs report.
