Russian stocks start the week lower, on a moderately negative international outlook. Investors will be looking at the US for drivers in the second half of the day, anticipating the release of manufacturing activity, a leading indicator of economic health.
On Friday the Russian stock exchange ended the session lower with
the MICEX having lost 0.81 percent to close at 1350.17, while the
RTS slipped 1.41 percent to 1331.43.
Europe also ended last week with a decline of major indicators.
The UK’s FTSE100 dropped 1.11 percent to 6583.09, the DAX in
Germany slid 0.61 percent to 8348.32, while in France the CAC 40
retreated 1.19 percent to end at 3948.59.
On Monday Spain, Italy and the UK will publish data on
manufacturing activity, while Switzerland is to publish its SVME
PMI.
The US floors ended Friday sharply lower despite expectations of
an upward movement. Investors’ sell-offs were related to due to
mixed economic reports. The Dow Jones industrial average slid
more than 200 points, while some 100 were lost in the last 15
minutes alone, marking the worst drop in six weeks.
The Dow closed down 1.4 percent at 15,115.57. The S&P 500
ended 1.4 percent lower at 1,630.74. The NASDAQ Composite
declined 1 percent to close at 3,455.91.
The Institute of Supply Management will release a closely-watched
report on manufacturing activity in the US Friday.
Asia was mixed on Monday after contradictory data from China.
Over the weekend, China’s National Bureau of Statistics said the
country’s official PMI for May rose to 50.8 from 50.6 in April.
That topped the 50.1 reading economists expected. In this light
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.36 percent in Monday’s trade, while
the Shanghai Composite also advanced 0.10 percent.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded significantly lower, losing 2.17percent
after the International Monetary Fund warned Japan that the yen
is weak enough, as opposed to its earlier comments saying the
Japanese yen was overvalued.
Statement from the European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi who
predicted a "very gradual recovery" to start in the eurozone
later this year also contributed to the confusion.
Oil is currently trading slightly lower with Brent losing a mere
0.05 percent and trading at $100, while WTI is 0.1 percent down
trading at $92.