By IFCMarkets

US stock market will reopen today after Martin Luther King Day holiday. On Friday all three main indexes notched new records. The dollar strengthening halted : the live dollar index data show the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, inched down less than 0.1% to 97.58 yesterday but is higher currently. Fourth quarter earnings season continues with 70.5% of the 9% of SP 500 companies that have reported earnings so far have beaten expectations, compared to the beat rate of 65% for a typical quarter, according to data from Refinitiv. Futures on stock indexes point to lower openings today.

European stocks pulled back on Monday. The EUR/USD turned higher while GBP/USD decline persisted yesterday with both pairs higher currently. The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.1% led by household goods shares. The DAX 30 however rose 0.2% to 13548.94. France’s CAC 40 fell 0.4% while UK’s FTSE 100 slid 0.3% to 7651.44.

Asian stock indices are mostly lower today. Nikkei retreated 0.9% to 23864.56 as yen reversed its slide against the dollar after Bank of Japan kept its policy unchanged, stating it expected the $120 billion government stimulus program, approved last month to help recovery from a typhoon in October, would boost the economy to grow slightly faster than previously projected. Markets in China are down: the Shanghai Composite Index is down 1.4% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is 2.7% lower after Moody’s downgraded the territory’s credit rating. Australia’s All Ordinaries Index lost 0.2% despite accelerated Australian dollar slide against the greenback.

Brent futures prices are pulling back today. Prices ended higher yesterday: March Brent crude closed 1% higher at $65.50 a barrel on Monday. Saudi Aramco ‘s shares continue trading on the country’s Tadawul exchange. Shares closed up 0.7% at 34.6 riyals on Monday, as Saudi Arabia’s stock index gained 0.2%.

Spot gold prices are edging lower today after inching toward seven year high at $1610.90 hit last week. February gold ended at 1559.96 an ounce on Monday.

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