Share markets slipped in Asia on Monday and oil prices eased as investors awaited details of threatened U.S. sanctions on Iran due later in the session, while the Canadian dollar dipped as a trade war loomed with its southern neighbour.
Market participants will also be hoping for some clarity on the outlook for U.S. interest rates when Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh speaks in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday, though his well-known aversion to forward guidance could lead to disappointment. "There are several reasons to expect to be underwhelmed," said Bruce Kasman, chief economist at JPMorgan, noting that past chairs have not wanted to front-run Fed decisions at the event. "Warsh will rather likely focus on aspects of his 'regime change' agenda," Kasman added.
Tech-heavy South Korean shares slid 2.8%, while Taiwan lost 0.5% with so much riding on Nvidia. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 1.3%, while Chinese blue chips fell 1.2%. The Hong Kong-listed shares of Alibaba slid 9.5% after the Chinese e-commerce and cloud computing company launched a $10.2 billion share offer and investors worried about payback from its massive AI spending. Samsung Electronics fell over 8% after a record $79 billion shareholder-return plan disappointed investors who had expected a larger share of AI-fueled cash windfalls.
In Europe, EURO STOXX 50 futures and DAX futures eased 0.1%, while FTSE futures were flat. On Wall Street, S&P 500 futures fell 0.1% and Nasdaq futures lost 0.4%. In currency markets, the dollar added 0.2% against its Canadian counterpart to 1.3790 after Prime Minister Mark Carney said his country would respond to U.S. tariffs with levies of its own as trade talks broke down. Canada will impose tariffs on U.S. steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper and electronics, along with some products that the U.S. previously targeted in Canada.
The dollar was on the defensive elsewhere after having lost 0.8% last week against a basket of currencies at 96.832.
The euro held at $1.1680 after rising 0.9% last week, while the dollar was flat at 158.92 yen. The dollar has been undermined as investors fret that growing U.S. debt and policy uncertainties will erode the purchasing power of the currency, driving demand for scarcer assets including gold.
The yellow metal firmed another 0.8% to $4,653 an ounce , having climbed 15% for the month so far. If it holds this gain for all of August, it would be the biggest monthly rise on record.
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