The Asian stock markets are looking at little movement on Monday, with traders likely reluctant to take long positions ahead of key earnings news this week.
Adding to the cautious sentiment, the accelerating of China’s inflation suggested that the world’s second-largest economy may not see any further stimulus.
Officials in Europe also have hinted that additional stimulus may not be forthcoming.
The major U.S. averages were mixed but little changed as the S&P 500 eased 0.07 points or less than a tenth of a percent to finish at 1,472.05. The Dow added 17.21 points or 0.1 percent to end at 13,488.43, while the NASDAQ crept up 3.87 points or 0.1 percent to close at 3,125.63.
The major European markets were higher on Friday as the DAX of Germany added 0.09 percent and the CAC 40 of France gained 0.08 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. climbed 0.26 percent and the SMI of Switzerland collected 0.68 percent.
The Asian markets were mostly lower on Friday as Malaysia eased 0.11 percent, while Indonesia gave away 0.27 percent, Australia fell 0.29 percent, Singapore’s Straits Times dipped 0.30 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.39 percent, South Korea’s KOSPI lost 0.50 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite plummeted 1.78 percent.
Moving higher, Japan’s Nikkei surged 1.09 percent, while Thailand collected 0.43 percent, New Zealand was up 0.31 percent, Taiwan added 0.09 percent and India’s Sensex was effectively flat, up 0.09 points.
Markets in Japan are closed on Monday for Coming of Age Day, and will re-open on Tuesday.
by RTT Staff Writer
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