Asia
Stock markets in the region reacted with relief to the absence of any further provocation from North Korea over the weekend. The United Nations Security Council votes on new sanctions against North Korea on Monday, a sign that non-military options have not yet been exhausted.
The majority of indices started the week strongly, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 leading the pack with a gain of nearly 1.5% to close at 19,545.77 as the yen weakened amid a switch away from less risky assets. Exporters such as Toyota, Honda and Hitachi were boosted by the softening of the Japanese currency after its recently strong run, while financial firms also gained.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed up nearly 1%, while China’s Shanghai Composite was less than 0.5% higher at the close.
Europe
Economic data was light in Europe at the start of the week but markets followed Asia’s cue and headed higher. The FTSE 100 pushed above 7,400, helped by a rise in drugmaker AstraZeneca (AZN), which reported positive results on Friday from recent trials of two lung cancer drugs.
Last week’s gainers, the miners Randgold Resources (RRS) and Fresnillo (FRES), were among Monday’s losers as traders shunned gold and silver’s defensive qualities in favour of equities.
At the bottom of the leaderboard, shares in Associated British Foods (ABF) were off 2% despite the company upgrading its profit outlook in a trading statement ahead of November’s full-year results. Germany’s Dax was up over 1%, as was France’s Cac index.
North America
US stock futures were higher in early trading amid hopes that effects of Hurricane Irma are starting to weaken, combined with North Korea choosing not to launch a missile over the weekend. In economics, the New York Federal Reserve releases its survey of consumer expectations.
In Canada, August housing starts are expected, with a forecast for 220,000 for the month, a touch lower than in July. US companies reporting include coffee supplier and distributor Farmer Brothers (FARM), and in Canada, biopharmaceutical firm CanniMed Therapeutics (CMED).
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