Wall Street was slow to gain traction early Monday as earnings season begins to wind down and little economic data out of Washington this week on inflation or U.S. employment.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials were unchanged before the bell while the S&P 500 dipped about 0.1%.
Oil prices gained after Saudi Arabia and Russia reiterated their commitment to maintaining oil supply cuts of more than 1 million barrels per day until the end of the year.
Also, the Israeli military announced late Sunday that it had encircled Gaza City and cut the besieged coastal strip in two almost a month into the deepening conflict.
In European trading, Germany’s DAX lost 0.3% and the CAC 40 in Paris fell 0.5%. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged 0.2% lower.
Recent surveys of factory managers showed a deterioration in business activity, reinforcing concerns over slowing growth in Germany, France and other major economies.
In Asia, stocks surged Monday after Wall Street benchmarks were buoyed last week by hopes for early interest rate cuts.
South Korean stocks jumped 5.7%, to 2,502.37, after the government restored a ban on short-selling, aiming to prevent illegal use of the trading tactic that is often used by hedge funds and investors. Short-selling refers to selling borrowed shares in order to buy them back cheaper and profit from price declines.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 2.4% to 32,708.48. However, the country’s services activity in October expanded at its slowest pace this year, raising concerns about weakness in a key sector driving Japanese economic activity.
The Bank of Japan is gradually moving towards tightening its monetary policy as the central bank’s head stated on Monday that the country has made progress toward reaching its inflation target. But BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda said Monday that the change was not sufficient for raising its near zero interest rate stance.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 1.7% to 17,966.59 and the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.9% at 3,058.41. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% to 6,997.40. India’s Sensex was 0.8% higher and Bangkok’s SET gained 0.3%.
On Friday, Wall Street closed out its best week in nearly a year. The S&P 500 climbed 0.9%, rising every day last week. The Dow industrials gained 0.7% and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.4%.
Stock prices have surged on rising hopes the Federal Reserve is finally done with its market-crunching hikes to interest rates, meant to get inflation under control. A report Friday underscored that pressure is easing on inflation, showing employers hired fewer workers last month than economists expected.
In other trading Monday, benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.01 to $81.52 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell $1.95 to $80.51 per barrel on Friday. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 95 cents to $85.84 per barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 149.67 Japanese yen from 149.37 yen. The euro cost $1.0752, up from $1.0728.
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