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The full moon, otherwise known as a strawberry supermoon, is seen over the Skyline of the CBD in Sydney, Australia June 15, 2022.
Steven Saphore | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were set to open mostly higher Tuesday, following losses on Wall Street that saw the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite pull back from record highs ahead of key inflation data.
Traders in Asia await the interest rate decision from Australia later in the day. A poll from Reuters expects the Reserve Bank of Australia to hold the benchmark rate at 4.35% for the 10th consecutive time.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 opened flat.
Japan's Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a higher open for the market, with the futures contract in Chicago at 39,305 and its counterpart in Osaka at 39,310 compared to the previous close of 39,160.5.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 21,359 higher than the HSI's last close of 20,414.09.
In the U.S. on Monday, tech shares struggled and investors prepared for key inflation data that will be released this week.
The broad market S&P 500 fell 0.61% to close at 6,052.85, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 0.62% to end at 19,736.69. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 240.59 points, or 0.54%, settling at 44,401.93.
AI bellwether Nvidia saw its shares dropped about 2.6% after a Chinese regulator announced that it was investigating the artificial intelligence chip behemoth for potentially violating the country's antitrust law.
Advanced Micro Devices, another chipmaker, closed 5.6% lower, while tech giants Meta Platforms and Netflix also struggled.
Bitcoin prices also retreated after topping $100,000 for the first time ever last week, a sign that investors might be souring on risk assets.
— CNBC's Sean Conlon and Sarah Min contributed to this report.
Unpredictable risks may leave markets vulnerable, says UBS
The market has managed to shake off the numerous unpredictable political and geopolitical events over the past few weeks.
"With relatively few identifiable risk events before President-elect Trump assumes office on 20 January, and unexpected events unknowable by definition, the rally could easily continue well into 1Q," chief investment officer Americas Jason Draho wrote in a Monday note.
However, Draho added that while this is "great for holiday spirit," it does leave the market more vulnerable to even small risks happening.
The investor cited two upcoming risk events: November's consumer price index slated for release on Friday and the Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week.
— Hakyung Kim
A TikTok ban could boost shares of Snap and Meta, Deutsche Bank says
Didem Mente | Anadolu | Getty Images
Last week, a federal appeals court upheld a law that gives ByteDance until January to sell TikTok. While it remains to be seen if the app is indeed taken off app stores by Jan. 19, Deutsche Bank analyst Benjamin Black analyzed the potential ramifications such a move might have on TikTok's competitors.
"We calculate that every 10% shift of total TikTok U.S. engagement to its competitors drives an incremental $5 in value/share for Snap (44% upside from Friday's open), $10/share (2% upside) for Meta, with the impact to Alphabet insignificant given the lower relative margins for YouTube, and the fact that the lion's share of GOOG's value is tied back to Search," the analyst wrote in a Monday note.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Gold prices reach fresh highs on renewed China buying, Fed rate cut enthusiasm
Gold Bullion from the American Precious Metals Exchange in New York on Sept. 15, 2011.
Mike Segar | Reuters
Gold prices hit two-week highs on Monday on renewed buying by China's central bank. Anticipation of a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cut next week also added to bullishness around the commodity.
Spot gold gained 1.2% to $2,665.39 per ounce. U.S. gold futures added 1.1% to $2,688.40.
"The most important factor is news that People's Bank of China reported that it again resumed its gold purchases … the market is getting hopeful that we could see other central banks follow suit and we could see a resumption of record territory buying," Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy at TD Securities, told Reuters.
Read more on gold's moves here.
— Pia Singh, Reuters
Energy stocks outperform
In an aerial view, the Valero Houston refinery seen in Houston, Texas, on Aug. 28, 2023.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
Energy stocks bucked the S&P 500's downturn on Monday.
The sector of stocks within the S&P 500 rose about 0.7%. By comparison, the broad index as a whole slid 0.4%.
APA led the energy sector higher with a gain of just more than 5%. Occidental Petroleum and Valero Energy were the next-biggest gainers, as each rose 2.7%.
Materials and health care were the only two other sectors within the S&P 500 tracking for gains on Monday. Communication services was the worst performer, on the other hand, with a loss of more than 1%.
— Alex Harring
English (US)