Mining stocks are also taking a hit, after U.S. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Stanley Fischer said the central bank is “close to our [inflation] targets” ahead of this week’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
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A man walks by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Monday, Aug. 22, 2016.
An upbeat assessment of the US economy’s strength from Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer on Sunday was seen raising the prospect of Fed chair Janet Yellen flagging up a rate rise at a meeting with the world’s central bankers on Friday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.3 percent to 22,868.47 and Seoul’s Kospi added 0.9 percent to 2,017.94. India’s Sensex lost 0.1 percent to 28,036.76 and Taiwan also declined. Brent crude was 1.9 percent lower at $49.95 a barrel, after gaining 8 percent last week, rising for a third week in a row. The S&P 500 fell 4 points, or 0.2%, to 2,180, while the Dow industrials declined 69 points, or 0.4%, to 18484.
USA crude slumped 1.7 percent to $47.68 after gaining 9 percent last week, rising for a second straight week. Analysts expect he will expand further on earlier remarks that the central bank has room to cut rates. “With markets pricing nearly even odds for another Fed hike this year, and given the retreat in the dollar and the rally in risky and emerging markets, this allows investors to once again ponder their portfolio exposure in the backdrop of subtle shifts in Fed messaging”. Technology and materials companies made small gains.
China’s CSI 300 index retreated 0.6 percent and the Shanghai Composite lost 0.5 percent as investors took profits. They said Patel’s personal prominence also might help defuse concern the government was trying to reduce the bank’s independence.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude shed 62 cents to $48.48 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.2 percent to 94.718.DXY, pulling away from a six-week low hit last week after minutes of the Fed’s last policy meeting showed rate-setters split on when to hike.
The euro was down 0.3 percent at $1.1289 EUR=, adding distance between $1.1366, its highest since June 24 reached on Thursday.
Spot gold was down 0.6 per cent at $1,332.80 an ounce as of 0642 GMT, after touching a low of $1,331.35, a level not seen since August 9. Brent crude, used to price Global oils, tumbled 83 cents to $50.05 per barrel in London.
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United States 10-year Treasury yields touched a two-week high of 1.60 per cent on Monday while shorter-dated yields touched levels not seen since Britain’s shock vote to leave the European Union in June.
