- Senegal set to announce breakaway development agenda: PM
- UN says 2 peacekeepers wounded in south Lebanon explosions
- Injury-hit Australia thrash 'embarrassing' Pakistan at Women's T20 World Cup
- Internal TikTok documents show prioritization of traffic over well-being
- Israel says fired at 'immediate threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- New US coach Pochettino hails Pulisic but worries over workload
- Brazil orders closure of 2,000 betting sites
- UK govt urged to raise pro-democracy tycoon's case with China
- Sculptor Lalanne's animal creations sell for $59 mn
- From Tesla to Trump: Behind Musk's giant leap into politics
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- Supercharged hurricanes trigger 'perfect storm' for disinformation
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Djokovic proves staying power as he progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Sheffield Utd boss Wilder 'numb' after Baldock death
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- Fans immerse themselves in Marina Abramovic's first China exhibition
- Israel says conducting review after UN peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Djokovic 'overwhelmed' after 'greatest rival' Nadal's retirement
- Zelensky in Berlin says hopes war with Russia will end next year
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Djokovic proves staying power as progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Hurricane Milton leaves at least 16 dead as Florida cleans up
- Britain face 'ultimate challenge' in America's Cup duel with New Zealand
- Lebanon calls for 'immediate' ceasefire in Israel-Hezbollah war
- Nihon Hidankyo: Japan's A-bomb survivors awarded Nobel
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Boat captain rescued clinging to cooler in Gulf of Mexico after storm Milton
- Tears, warnings after Japan atomic survivors group win Nobel
- 'Unspeakable horror': the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- Christian villagers 'trapped' in south Lebanon crossfire
- Sabalenka sets up Gauff showdown in Wuhan semis
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Kim Sei-young holds lead with late birdies at LPGA Shanghai
- Toulouse welcome Dupont 'boost' as Olympic star returns to Top 14
- Japanese atomic bomb survivor group Nihon Hidankyo wins Nobel Peace Prize
- Deadly Israeli strike on Beirut likely targeted Hezbollah security chief
- Bangladesh Islamist chief backs crimes against humanity trial for ex-PM
- Everest climber's remains believed found after 100 years
- 20 Pakistan coal miners shot dead in attack
- Clashes on South China Sea, Ukraine dominate Asia summit
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Zelensky meets Pope, Scholz as whirlwind Europe tour ends
- Hello Hallyu: why is South Korean culture sweeping the globe?
- UK economy rebounds in August in boost to new govt
- Voice of Japan's beloved robot cat 'Doraemon' dies
RIO | 0.67% | 67.293 | $ | |
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BCE | 0.56% | 33.045 | $ |
Stock markets waver, oil prices edge up
Global stock markets wavered on Monday but Tokyo closed at an all-time high, while oil prices rose slightly after a decision by major crude producers to extend output cuts.
Wall Street opened lower after the Nasdaq and S&P 500 closed at all-time highs last week while European equities were mixed in afternoon deals.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stocks index closed above 40,000 points for the first time.
Tokyo is enjoying a record-run higher thanks to Wall Street rallies, robust corporate earnings and optimism over artificial intelligence, analysts said.
"Japan's stock market is also being boosted by the weak yen which is making exports cheaper and more attractive to overseas buyers," said David Morrison, senior market analyst at investment platform Trade Nation.
In New York and European markets, investors waited for fresh signals on interest rates from the US and eurozone central banks later this week as well as a pre-election UK budget.
The European Central Bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged again at a regular meeting on Thursday as official want to ensure inflation is on a clear downward path before they cut borrowing costs.
Investors will be also looking to Fed chairman Jerome Powell's testimony to Congress and US job figures later this week for indications on when the US central bank might cut its own rates.
"We don't expect the chair to stray very far from the Fed's recent messaging -- officials are in a 'wait-and-see' mode as there's still a lot of ambiguity in the data," said John Briggs, global head of desk strategy at NatWest Markets.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong's stock market finished flat Monday and Shanghai closed higher ahead of the start of China's annual legislative conclave, with officials expressing concern over the nation's struggling economy and youth unemployment.
- Oil cuts -
On the commodities side, the international oil benchmark, Brent crude, rose 0.3 percent to $83.79 after falling earlier in the day.
The modest increase came one day after Saudi Arabia, Russia and several other OPEC+ members announced extensions to production cuts first announced in 2023.
The extension to mid-2024 is part of an agreement among oil producers to boost prices following economic uncertainty.
Monday's weak price movement was due to the fact they had already risen last week on expectations of the extension of the cuts, said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.
"There is also some conjecture that the decision to extend those cuts could be a tacit indication that demand is relatively weak," O'Hare said.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading platform XTB, said the average price of oil has bee just over $80 in the year to date so far.
"If Saudi Arabia wants to manipulate the price of oil higher, then it may have to enforce the production cuts on all (OPEC+) members, even though some have been producing more oil than their quotas have allowed," Brooks said.
"The oil price is anchored around $80 per barrel because there is ample oil supply, even with OPEC cuts, and demand growth is set to slow, which are factors that OPEC can't control," Brooks said.
- Key figures around 1445 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 38,983.76 points
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.1 percent at 5,131.52
New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 16,248.02
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.7 percent at 7,632.55
Paris - CAC 40: FLAT at 7,934.86
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.3 percent at 17,690.70
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.2 percent at 4,903.70
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.5 percent at 40,109.23 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 16,595.97 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,039.31 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0856 from $1.0841 on Friday
Dollar/yen: UP at 150.44 yen from 150.11 yen
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2688 from $1.2656
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.58 pence from 85.65 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.3 percent at $83.79 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $80.11 per barrel
burs-lth/cw
D.Moore--AMWN