US financial markets were closed for the Independence Day holiday.
European sharemarkets were mixed on Monday. The energy sector rose 4% as oil prices rose on continued concerns about nearterm crude supplies. Healthcare rose 0.7% and miners rose 1.4%. But real estate lost 2.6% and autos lost 1%. According to the Sentix reading, investor morale in the euro zone fell this month to its lowest level since May 2020. And euro zone producer prices rose less than expected in May. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose by 0.5%. But while the German Dax index fell by 0.3%, the UK FTSE index rose by 0.9%. In London trade, shares of Rio Tinto were flat while shares in BHP rose by 0.9%.
US sharemarkets were closed for a public holiday. But on Friday US sharemarkets rose in light trading. Gains were broad-based, led by utilities. The Dow Jones index rose by 322 points or 1.1%. The S&P 500 index lifted 1.1% with the Nasdaq index up by 99 points or 0.9%.
The US government bond market was closed on Monday. But on Friday US treasuries rose (yields lower). US 10-year yields fell by around 9 points to near 2.89% and US 2-year yields fell by around 9 points to near 2.84%.
Major currencies were mixed against the US dollar in European and North American US trade. The Euro held between US$1.0415 and US$1.0460 and was near US$1.0420 in late North American trade. The Aussie dollar rose from lows near US68.25 cents to US68.90 cents and was near US68.60 cents in late North American trade. The Japanese eased from 135.25 yen per US dollar to JPY135.75 and was near the weakest levels in late North American trade.
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Global oil prices rose by around 2% on Monday. Supply concerns, driven by lower OPEC output, unrest in Libya and Ecuador and sanctions against Russia, outweighed fears of weaker global economic activity. Reuters noted: “Adding to potential supply woes, a strike this week in Norway could cut supply from Western Europe’s largest oil producer and reduce overall petroleum output by about 8%.” The Brent crude price rose by US$1.87 or 1.7% to US$113.50 a barrel. And the US Nymex crude price lifted by US$2.23 in after hours trade or 2.1% to US$110.66 a barrel.
Base metal prices were mixed on Monday. Copper and tin fell by as much as 0.5%. Other metals rose by between 1.0-3.2% with zinc up the most.
Spot gold was trading near US$1,809 an ounce in late North American trade. The iron ore futures price fell by US$5.29 or 4.6% to US$109.94 a tonne. Ahead: In Australia, the Reserve Bank Board meets. Data on retail trade and new vehicle sales are released. The S&P Global services purchasing managers index is issued. In China the Caixin services purchasing managers index is released. In the US, data on factory orders is released with new vehicle sales.
Originally published by CommSec
