Stocks in Europe closed slightly lower while currencies had a relatively muted overnight session ahead of Asia’s Tuesday trading day.
European stock indexes closed in negative territory on Monday, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 finishing the day 0.66 percent lower. Other indexes in the region also closed with moderate losses: The FTSE 100 ended down 0.64 percent and Germany’s DAX was lower by 0.53 percent.
Volumes were weaker than usual due to U.S. markets being closed on Monday for Presidents Day.
Back in Asia, futures pointed to a lower open for Japanese stocks after the benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed nearly 2 percent higher in the last session.
Nikkei futures traded in Chicago were off by 0.67 percent at 22,000 compared to the benchmark’s previous close. Osaka futures were 0.9 percent lower.
Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 was off by 0.17 percent in early morning trade.
Markets in China, Taiwan and Vietnam will remain closed on Tuesday for the Lunar New Year holiday.
On the earnings front, interim results from mining major BHP are due after the market close in Australia. HSBC is also expected to release its full-year earnings for 2017 during the day.
The overnight session was fairly quiet for currency markets. The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket of rivals, traded at 89.199 at 6:42 a.m. HK/SIN after rising as high as 89.442 earlier. The move higher came after the dollar index slipped as low as 88.253 last week.
Against the yen, the greenback traded at 106.57, off a low of 106.08 touched on Monday.
The Australian dollar was mostly steady at $0.7917 ahead of the release of minutes from the country’s central bank later in the day.
“Currencies remained in well-established ranges overnight as holidays across the U.S. and Asia took their toll on liquidity,” David Plank, head of Australian economics at ANZ, said in a morning note.
“In the near term, the Australian dollar remains trapped. Poor U.S. dollar sentiment continues to provide support, but a low yield structure and unchanged domestic story are providing few catalysts for renewed upside,” he added.
Meanwhile, oil prices touched their highest levels in two weeks on Monday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate last traded higher by 1.33 percent at $62.50 per barrel and Brent crude futures was up 1.19 percent at $65.61.
The economic calendar for Tuesday is relatively light (all times in HK/SIN):
- 8:30 a.m.: Reserve Bank of Australia meeting minutes
- 3:00 p.m.: Indonesia loan growth
