Monday, September 20, 2010

Asian markets set for subdued, cautious start

WELLINGTON: Asian stocks will probably open cautiously higher on Monday, Sept 20 after U.S. stocks made modest gains despite data showing soft U.S. consumer sentiment and a re-emergence of concerns about euro-zone fiscal health.

Japanese markets, which closed at near six-week highs on Friday, are closed on Monday for a national holiday.

The main Wall Street indexes closed between 0.1 percent and 0.5 percent higher as the traditional trading volatility that comes with the expiration of futures and options contracts, the so-called quadruple witching, did not occur.

Oracle Corp the world's No. 3 software maker, jumped 8.3 percent and led the Nasdaq higher after it posted better-than-expected results and gave an outlook that topped Wall Street's forecasts.

The S&P 500 briefly pushed through key technical resistance around 1,130. A decisive move above that level on solid volume would be a bullish sign.

Risk sentiment was also kept in check by data that showed underlying U.S. inflation pressures were muted in August and consumer confidence was at a 13-month low, keeping fears of deflation alive and supporting safe-haven assets such as Treasuries.

Asian stocks listed on Wall Street fell 0.2 percent.

British shares fell 0.6 percent on soft financial and energy stocks, and European shares dipped 0.2 percent, on soft banks.

Investors were unsettled by a report in the Irish Independent newspaper which said Ireland was "perilously close" to calling in the International Monetary Fund and the European Union, which was denied by the Irish finance ministry.

Australian shares are also seen opening steady, with higher gold and base metal prices likely to support miners. Share index futures are down 22 points to 4,637, a 1.9 point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index. - Reuters


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