Asian shares fell on Monday after strong U.S. jobs data tempered expectations for a Fed rate cut, while the Turkish lira hovered near two-week lows on worries about central bank independence.
Asian Shares
- MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (MIAPJ0000PUS) lost more than 1%, with every market in the red.
- Japan’s Nikkei (N225) faltered 0.9%.
- Chinese shares started lower with the blue-chip index (CSI300) off 1.7%.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index (HSI) down 1.5%.
- South Korea’s KOSPI (KS11) was off 1.8%.
- Australian shares (AXJO) slipped about 1% to a five-week low.
Currency Markets
- The dollar index (DXY), which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, was a shade weaker at 97.239 after climbing to a 2-1/2 week top of 97.443 on Friday.
- The euro (EUR=D3) was flat at $1.1226, not far from a 2-1/2-week low of $1.1205 touched on Friday.
- The Australian dollar , which has been on an uptrend since June 18, slipped below 70 U.S. cents to last trade at $0.6985.
Commodities
- In commodity markets, oil prices rose with Brent crude futures (LCOc1), the international benchmark for oil prices, up 16 cents at $64.39 per barrel.
- U.S. crude added 22 cents to $57.73.
- Spot gold fell 0.1% to $1,398.33 an ounce.