Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell amid uncertainty in China over Covid restrictions, falling oil prices.
Japan -0.56%.
China -1.39%. China’s main stock indexes and the country’s currency opened sharply lower on Monday, as protests spread against the country’s strict Covid-19 pandemic restrictions over the weekend. disturbed investor sentiment.
There were widespread protests in China over the weekend ahead of the Chinese Communist Party’s heavy-handed lockdown, censorship and censorship measures. mismanagement of the COVID crisis.
The People’s Bank of China over the weekend announced it would cut the reserve requirement ratio for banks by 25 basis points to 7.8% and inject about 500 billion yuan into long-term liquidity.
Hong Kong -2.35%.
Australia -0.42%. Australian data – October retail sales fell 0.2% month on month (vs +0.5% expected).
India +0.32%.
Oil futures fell more than $2 a barrel on Monday, with WTI hitting an 11-month low, as protests in top Chinese importer over strict Covid-19 restrictions intensified. concerns about demand.
Brent crude oil fell $2.16, or 2.6%, to trade at $81.47 a barrel by 02:30 GMT, after falling to $81.16 earlier in the session – its lowest level since 11 January.
West Texas Intermediate USA (WTI) rough fell $2.08, or 2.7%, to $74.20 a barrel. Before that, it dropped to $73.82 — the lowest since December 27, 2021.
Gold prices fell on Monday, as the dollar strengthened on safe-haven demand triggered by protests in several Chinese cities over the country’s strict Covid-19 restrictions.
spot gold fell 0.4% to $1,749.00 an ounce, at 0314 GMT. US gold futures contract frose 0.2% to $1,749.90.
spot silver down 1.8% to $21.21, platinum down 0.3% to $978.00 and palladium fell 0.3% to $1,846.94.
US futures are lower. Dow Jones index -0.06%; S&P 500 -0.01%; Nasdaq -0.09%.
