Asian markets had long closed for
the weekend break before the still-unsubstantiated news broke on Friday of
claims that Ukraine had partly destroyed a Russian convoy that had crossed its
border. As a result this has mitigated the need for regional markets to play
catch-up during Monday’s session and after the impressive gains that were
posted last week, the rally does appear to be running out of a little momentum.
That sharp decline in Chinese foreign direct investment once again will put the
onus back onto Beijing to consider fresh economic stimulus measures, but
elsewhere it does appear to be a case of just treading water. Clearly any
deterioration in the geopolitical landscape could take its toll on sentiment
but at least for now there’s no signs of a flight to safety.
Wall Street is eyeing an upbeat
start to the week with traders again dismissing the claims from Kiev that
rocked markets on Friday. What’s more, economic data is looking thin on the
ground today so it’s really going to be a shift in one of the global tensions –
Iraq, Israel or Ukraine – that has the potential to provide the meaningful
direction. Earnings news is still in evidence but looks to be relatively low
key, so ahead of the open we’re calling the DOW up 84 at 16747 and the S&P
up 10 at 1965.
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