LONDON : Global stocks rose on Monday, ahead of a week stacked with earnings from Wall Street’s “Magnificent 7”, while the yen sank after an election in Japan thrust the country into political turmoil, and oil slid as tensions in the Middle East ebbed.
The dollar, which is heading towards a 3.6 per cent monthly rise against a basket of major currencies in October, hit a three-month peak against the yen at 153.885, after Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lost its parliamentary majority.
Oil prices fell by as much as 5.34 per cent after Israel’s response to an Oct. 1 Iranian missile attack focused, so far, on missile factories and other sites near Tehran, rather than on refineries or nuclear targets.
U.S. stock index futures pointed to an upbeat start on Wall Street later, up 0.5-0.7 per cent, while Europe’s STOXX 600 rose 0.4 per cent, as airline stocks drew strength from lower fuel prices.
With the U.S. presidential election just over a week away and a key read of employment on Friday, investors were wary of tugging stocks or bonds too far in one direction or the other.
“There’ll be plenty to test the market nerves with this week’s bumper set of data releases, including U.S. payrolls on Friday, and earnings reports, with five of the Magnificent 7 reporting. Meanwhile, the tight U.S. election campaign will enter its final stretch,” Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid said.
The “Magnificent Seven” are the largest U.S. companies by market value. The five set to report earnings this week are Google parent Alphabet, Microsoft, Facebook owner Meta, Apple and Amazon.
“One market fear that has eased over the weekend is escalation risks in the Middle East. This comes as overnight into Saturday Israel carried out retaliatory strikes against Iran, but with these targeting military facilities and avoiding
