- Indices from Asia-Pacific traded mixed on the first day of a new week. Nikkei dropped 0.7%, S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.7%, Kospi jumped 0.6% higher, Nifty 50 surged 1.5% and indices form China traded 0.2-0.6% lower
- US and European index futures are trading slightly lower
- Tensions rising in the Middle East after fighting in the Gaza Strip resumed last week
- Yemen's Houthi carried out missile and drone attacks on two commercial vessels and US Navy ship in the Red Sea
- US military carried out strike against Iran-linked drone staging site in Iraq
- Chinese National Health Commission recommended reducing large gatherings amid spike in respiratory disease infections. Chinese authorities say infections are caused by known pathogens and are not a novel virus
- Oil is trading 1% lower, extending a drop from Thursday's high to over 7%. Disagreement among OPEC+ countries as well as rising production in the US are driving crude prices lower
- Gold surged overnight, but has erased big part of the gains since and is trading 0.8% higher at $2,085 per ounce. Other precious metals are gaining just slightly
- Cryptocurrencies rallied over the weekend and the move continues today. Bitcoin gains over 3% and trades above $41,000 - the highest level since April 2022
- Australian business inventories increased 1.2% QoQ in Q3 2023 (exp. -0.5% QoQ). Gross operating profits were -1.3% QoQ lower (exp. 1.2% QoQ)
- USD and EUR are the best performing major currencies, while CHF and AUD lag the most
GOLD launched new week with a surge, climbing to an intraday high of around $2,140 per ounce. However, big part of those gains has been erased already. Impending rate cuts are fuelling gold rally, with price now trading 8% above mid-November lows. Source: xStation5
