European Open Market Briefing – 11/09/2017 – by Arjun Lakhanpal

In Asian Equity Markets Japan’s Nikkei rallied to a one-week high on Monday morning after the dollar recovered against the yen, lifting recently battered exporters and financial stocks which had stumbled amid the simmering tensions on the Korean peninsula. The Nikkei index rose 1.5 percent to 19,560.40 in midmorning trade, after hitting a high of 19,567.03, its best level since Sept. 4. The broader Topix gained 1.4 percent to 1,615.18. South Korea’s main index added 0.8 percent, while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan gained 0.4 percent. In greater China, the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index was up 0.99 percent and the Shanghai Composite inched up 0.13 percent.

In Currency Markets the dollar edged higher on Monday, pulling away from last week’s lows against its major rivals after North Korea marked the anniversary of its founding without resorting to any further missile or nuclear tests. The dollar added 0.5 percent against its perceived safe-haven Japanese counterpart to 108.42 yen, moving away from a 10-month nadir of 107.32 yen touched on Friday. The euro was down 0.2 percent at $1.2013, after it rose as high as $1.2092 on Friday, its loftiest since January 2015. The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, was 0.2 percent higher at 91.522 , after skidding to a 2-1/2 year low of 91.011 on Friday.

In Commodities Markets  oil prices edged up on Monday after the Saudi oil minister discussed possibly extending a pact to cut global oil supplies beyond March 2018 with his Venezuelan and Kazakh counterparts.  U.S. crude for October delivery was up 0.8 percent, at $47.87 a barre, having tumbled 3.3 percent on Friday. London Brent crude for November delivery was up 0.4 percent, at $54, having settled down 1.3 percent. Spot gold was down 0.7 percent at $1,337.61 an ounce. It rose to $1,357.54 on Sept. 8, the highest since Aug. 16, 2016. Silver was down 0.5 percent to $17.84 an ounce after touching its highest since April in the previous session. Platinum was down 0.7 percent at $997.75 an ounce while palladium was 0.4 percent higher at $938.22 an ounce.

In US Equity Markets  the S&P 500 ended slightly lower on Friday as investors braced for potential damage from Hurricane Irma as it drove toward Florida, while a decline in big tech names like Apple and Facebook pushed the Nasdaq down more sharply. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.06 percent, to 21,797.79, the S&P 500 lost 0.15 percent, to 2,461.43 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.59 percent, to 6,360.19.  Energy shares fell 1.1 percent as oil prices fell on worries that commerce and energy demand in Florida and the Southeast would be hit hard due to Irma. Shares of Home Depot and Lowe’s Cos, which have gained amid of the arrival of the storms, rose on Friday. The stocks were up 1.1 percent each.

In Bond Markets  U.S. long-dated Treasury yields were little changed to slightly lower on Friday, as investors squared positions ahead of next week’s auction of government debt. In late trading, benchmark 10-year Treasury yields fell to 2.055 percent, from 2.061 percent late on Thursday. U.S. 30-year bond yields were down at 2.673 percent, from 2.678 percent the previous session.