· Dow futures fall nearly 200 points after U.S. coronavirus cases surge to record high
Futures tied to major U.S. equity benchmarks traded lower in early morning trading on Monday as Wall Street headed for the last full trading week ahead of Election Day.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 180 points. The S&P 500 futures and the Nasdaq 100 futures both also traded in negative territory.
The decline in futures came amid a record surge in new coronavirus cases in the U.S. The country saw more than 83,000 new infections on both Friday and Saturday after outbreaks in Sun Belt states, surpassing a previous record of roughly 77,300 cases set in July, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
· Asian shares subdued as S&P slips, virus surges
Asian shares got the week off to a hesitant start on Monday as surging coronavirus cases in Europe and the United states undermined the global outlook, while China’s leaders meet to ponder the future of the economic giant.
The U.S. has seen its highest ever number of new COVID-19 cases in the past two days, while France also set unwanted case records and Spain announced a state of emergency.
That combined with no clear progress on a U.S. stimulus package to pull S&P 500 futures down 0.6%. EUROSTOXX 50 futures eased 0.7% and FTSE futures 0.4%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan inched up 0.1%, still short of its recent 31-month peak. Japan’s Nikkei dithered either side of steady, and South Korea’s main index lost 0.3%.
· Japanese shares end lower on caution over earnings
Japanese shares edged lower on Monday, as investors were on guard ahead of a slew of earnings reports, while a surge in global coronavirus cases also weighed on sentiment.
The benchmark Nikkei share average fell 0.09% to 23,494.34, while the broader Topix declined 0.39% to 1,618.98.
Market participants said trades were somewhat subdued as the market was in wait-and-see mode ahead of the U.S. presidential election and earnings results.
· China stocks fall as liquor giant Kweichow Moutai misses growth estimates
China stocks ended lower on Monday, dragged down by the consumer sector after the country’s largest liquor maker Kweichow Moutai posted slower-than-expected growth in quarterly profit.
At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.82% at 3,251.12, while the blue-chip CSI300 index was down 0.58%.
The consumer staples sector fell 1.35%. Kweichow Moutai Co Ltd dropped as much as 6.7% after the company said its net profit grew 6.9% to 11.2 billion yuan ($1.67 billion) in the third quarter, missing analysts’ estimates.
· European markets set for lower open as coronavirus resurgence weighs
European markets are heading for a lower open Monday as surging coronavirus cases throughout the continent and a stalemate over U.S. fiscal stimulus continue to weigh on sentiment.
Britain’s FTSE 100 is seen around 44 points lower at 5,816, Germany’s DAX is set to plunge by around 202 points to 12,444 and France’s CAC 40 is expected to shed around 58 points to open at 5,852, according to IG data.
The resurgence of the coronavirus in Europe has continued apace in recent days, with France reporting a record daily rise in new infections on Sunday, Italy ordering bars to close early and shutting public gyms and Spain issuing a nationwide curfew to stem a worsening outbreak.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
Thai
Eng