Asian equities declined modestly on Monday, while oil pulled back from its highest levels in six months. Investors face a busy schedule of central bank decisions and corporate results, with the earnings reports providing another test of confidence in the artificial intelligence boom.
Across Asian stock markets, Japan’s Nikkei gained slightly by 0.15%%. South Korean equities fell 1.35%%. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.68% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.08%. The Indonesian IDX dropped 0.23%.
The declines followed Friday’s retreat on Wall Street, where expensive oil and selling across multiple sectors weighed on all three major benchmarks. The Dow shed more than 650 points, or 1.23%; losses were smaller for the S&P 500 at 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite at 0.2%.
Interest-rate concerns weighed on gold ahead of the Federal Reserve’s meeting next week. Rising energy costs had intensified inflation worries and expectations that US borrowing costs would remain elevated.
Upcoming US figures are expected to put September core inflation at 3.1% and annualised economic growth at 3.2%, partly supported by heavy data-centre investment.
CME FedWatch showed a record 90% probability of unchanged Fed rates next week. Goldman Sachs analysts also expect no increase at the October meeting, but anticipate a second rate rise in December.
Oil moved lower on Monday following reports of diplomatic efforts to ease regional tensions. Brent declined 1.0% to $115.48 after Qatari mediators reportedly visited Tehran on Sunday, coordinating their de-escalation initiative with the United States.
On Friday, spot gold dropped 0.6% to $3,998 an ounce, trading below $4,000 for the first time since mid-July. The metal reached a three-month low and was heading toward its largest weekly loss in more than four months.
