Treasuries rose and stocks were little changed with investors erring on the side of caution as geopolitical concerns build in Asia and the Middle East. Oil posted its longest run of gains this year and the dollar weakened for the first time in three trading sessions.<\/p>\n
For the sixth time in seven days, the S&P 500 ran into trouble after crossing above its 21-day\u00a0moving average. The chart level, roughly the index\u2019s mean altitude over the last month, current sits at 2,360.7. The S&P 500 went as high as 2,366.37 before dropping back to finish little changed. The price swings sent the CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX — the market\u2019s standard fear gauge — to the highest level this year.<\/p>\n
Energy shares were one of the few bright spots in the S&P 500 as Libya\u2019s biggest oil field suffered another outage while Russia signaled it\u2019s weighing an extension of OPEC-led production cuts. French bonds fell, widening the yield spread over Germany to the highest since February after polls showed the country\u2019s presidential election is becoming a four-way contest. European stocks traded mostly sideways as equities in France gave up ground.<\/p>\n
Oil rose for a fifth day after advancing 3.2 percent last week following a U.S. military strike on Syria. In Russia, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Friday his ministry had been in talks with oil companies regarding the need to prolong the six-month deal with OPEC. The U.S.\u2019s decision to divert an aircraft carrier to North Asia sparked a selloff in South Korea assets and renewed concern of Chinese involvement in any regional conflict.<\/p>\n
While demand for haven assets has eased as financial markets attempt to shrug off Friday\u2019s disappointing U.S. employment figures, a ratcheting up of geopolitical tensions and Europe\u2019s looming test of populism curtailed optimism. Corporate results may provide the next fresh catalyst — they\u2019ll accelerate this week with earnings due from the likes of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Tesco Plc and Prada SpA.<\/p>\n
\u201cGeopolitics trumps economics as the main market driver, with strained U.S.-Russian relations and the dispatch of a U.S. aircraft carrier towards the Korean peninsula making the headlines,\u201d Kit Juckes, a global strategist at Societe Generale, wrote in a note. \u201cThis week, it will be geopolitics and events outside the U.S. which drive markets.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read our Markets Live blog here:<\/p>\n
What investors will be watching this week:<\/p>\n
Here are the main moves in markets:<\/p>\n
Currencies<\/p>\n
Stocks<\/p>\n
Bonds<\/p>\n
Commodities<\/p>\n
Asia<\/p>\n
Source: Bloomberg<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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