However, a cautious sentiment largely follows through amid a surge in coronavirus cases
Wall Street stocks finished lower on Friday, with the Dow Jones declining for a fifth straight day. Investors are worried about the persistent rise in coronavirus cases while the Federal Reserve is planning to take away easy policies. On the data front, the U.S. producer price index rose 0.7% in August, down from a 1% jump in July. As such, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.78%, the S&P 500 fell 0.77%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.87%.
Following a negative open, Asian equities managed to erase early losses to finish mostly higher on Monday. However, a cautious sentiment largely follows through amid a surge in coronavirus cases in the region and other countries. On the data front, Japan reported its wholesale prices were near a 13-year high last month, adding to inflation concerns. Still, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.22%, the Shanghai Composite in China added 0.33% while South Korean Kospi climbed less than 0.1%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 1.73%.
In Europe, equities advanced at the beginning of the week, with market players continuing to digest the ECB’s decision to slow down bond buying. The central bank also modestly revised up its medium-term inflation forecasts. The pan-European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.5% in early trade. US stock index futures were modestly higher in early premarket trading. Now, investors will be keeping an eye on the U.S. consumer price index for August due on Tuesday.
In currencies, the dollar extends the ascent nearly across the board despite risk sentiment has improved somewhat on Monday. The USD index climbed to 92.90, approaching the 93.00 handle in spite of a slightly bearish performance of US yields. US 10-year yields eased to the area below 1.35% at the beginning of the week.
