Commodities Rebound Lifts Global Stocks
August 20 2018 - 5:37AM
Dow Jones News
By Riva Gold
Global stocks were mostly higher Monday after stabilizing near
the end of last week, helped by a rebound in commodity-linked
companies.
The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.6% in morning trading, following
modest gains across Asian markets and a late climb on Wall Street.
Futures pointed to a 0.2% opening advance for the S&P 500.
The basic resources sector led gains in Europe with a 2.5%
climb, as a bounce in oil and metals prices helped energy and
mining companies recover from last week's declines.
Brent crude oil was last up 0.6% at $72.26 a barrel. Copper
futures were up 1.4% at $6,017 a ton while gold rose 0.9% to
$1,195.20 an ounce after six-straight weeks of losses.
Metals prices had fallen last week while worries about Turkey
and its knock-on effects across Europe helped send the Stoxx Europe
600 last week to its biggest weekly decline since June.
The Turkish lira was down 1.6% against the dollar Monday, up 13%
from a week ago but still down about 38% on the year. S&P
Global Ratings and Moody's Investors Service on Friday downgraded
Turkey one notch further below investment grade, citing recent
extreme economic and financial volatility.
The Trump administration rejected an effort by Turkey to tie the
release of a U.S. pastor with relief for a major Turkish bank
facing billions of dollars in U.S. fines, a senior White House
official said.
Elsewhere, stocks in Asia were mostly higher Monday after an
upbeat finish Friday on Wall Street. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up
1.2%, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.1% after
five-straight sessions of declines.
Australia's S&P ASX 200 edged up 0.1% as energy and
materials companies there also rose.
Japanese stocks lagged behind in very light trading, with the
Nikkei down 0.3% after the yen strengthened against the dollar late
last week.
The ICE Dollar Index was last up 0.2%, adding to this year's
4.5% advance. Investors are expected to watch central bank comments
closely in the coming sessions for any insights into the impact of
a strengthening dollar on emerging markets and the course of
interest-rate increases.
Minutes from the Federal Reserve's August meeting are due this
week just as the Kansas City Fed's annual Jackson Hole symposium
kicks off, the first time Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will speak at
the monetary policy gathering.
Investors will also be watching for any comments officials make
relating to the potential impact of trade tensions on the
economy.
Negotiators from the U.S. and China have been working out talks
to try to end their trade standoff ahead of planned meetings
between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at
multilateral summits in November, according to officials in both
nations.
Kosaku Narioka contributed to this article.
Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 20, 2018 05:22 ET (09:22 GMT)
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