SYDNEY- Stocks made a wobbly start to the week while oil and the euro were under pressure on Monday, as the return of COVID-19 restrictions in Europe and talk about hastened tapering from the US Federal Reserve put investors on guard.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.1 percent. Futures steadied after selling on Friday and EuroSTOXX 50 futures were up 0.2 percent and S&P 500 futures up 0.3 percent.
Austria began its fourth lockdown on Monday, with neighboring Germany warning it may follow suit, shutting Christmas markets, bars, cafes and theatres.
“There are question marks over the resilience of Europe and the European economy,” said Rodrigo Catril, a strategist at National Australia Bank in Sydney.
“It’s hard to see the US dollar coming to any harm against that backdrop,” he said, a view further underlined by recent strong US data and hawkish remarks from Fed officials.
The euro slipped 0.2 percent to $1.1280, close to a 16-month low. The common currency has been the prime mover in markets over recent sessions as investors wager on Europe’s economy lagging well behind the US recovery.
Safe-haven assets such as bonds, gold and the yen have also benefited from the recent cautious tone.
On Monday, the yield on benchmark 10-year US Treasuries was steady at 1.5600 percent. Gold found support at $1,845 an ounce. The yen hovered at 114.09 per dollar.
Chipmakers stood out as gaining against the tide, on a brightened demand outlook, helping Japan’s Nikkei stay steady and lifting South Korea’s Kospi by 1 percent. Samsung and SK Hynix each rose by more than 5 percent.
