As investors wait for the US inflation statistics to be revealed on Wednesday in order to determine the near-term direction for interest rates, US stocks reversed losses and ended the day with a mixed performance.
The anticipation that the US Federal Reserve would raise interest rates in May has increased as a result of the positive jobs report from last week.
S&P 500 index increased 0.09% to 4,108.66 points. At 33,583.72, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.31%. At 12,081.86, the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.05%.
On expectations of another rate hike, the US dollar grew. The US dollar rose against the Japanese yen to 133.65 from 132.27, and against the euro to 0.9209 from 0.9167.
Bullion
As the US dollar grew, gold prices fell below $2,000 during the day. An ounce of gold for June delivery dropped by $22.60 to $2,003.80. At $24.91 per ounce, silver for May delivery lost 18 cents.
Canada
On Monday, Canadian shares rose, driven primarily by gains in the energy and healthcare sectors. The S&P/TSX composite index of the Toronto Stock Exchange increased 0.4% to 20,196.69.
Asiatic stocks
Asia-Pacific shares outside of Japan were neutral on Monday, with MSCI’s broadest index down 0.05%.
On Monday, South Korean stocks reached a close to eight-month high, driven by the chip and battery industries. The key Kospi index increased 0.87% to 2,512.08.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan increased 0.4% to 27,633.66. The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.4% in China to 3,315.36.
Oil costs
On Monday, oil prices fell amid worries that demand would be stifled by interest rate increases. The price of a barrel of June delivery Brent crude dropped 94 cents to $84.18. On Monday, benchmark US crude for May delivery dropped 96 cents to $79.74 per barrel.
Following the announcement by OPEC+ last week that production restrictions would begin in May, crude had increased by more than 6%.
For Easter, stock markets were closed in Europe, Australia, and Hong Kong.
