Bangkok, Oct 12: Asian shares were mixed and oil prices fell about USD 1.50 a barrel Monday as US President Donald Trump’s plan to purchase diesel from Russia drew criticism from some lawmakers.
US stock futures gained more than 0.3 per cent after Wall Street finished its record-setting week with gains. This week will bring updates on inflation and retail sales in the US. The biggest US banks will report earnings from the most recent quarter.
In Asian trading, South Korea’s Kospi lost 3.1 per cent to 6,416.17. Markets in Tokyo were closed for a holiday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged 0.2 per cent higher to 24,253.70 and the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.1 per cent to 3,809.08.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 surged 0.9 per cent to 8,790.70.
Taiwan’s Taiex gave up 0.2 per cent and the Sensex in India inched up 0.1 per cent.
On Friday, the S&P 500 climbed 0.6 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.8 per cent. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.6 per cent.
Oil prices have continued to yo-yo because of uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow the global energy industry to return to normal.
Trump shocked lawmakers when he announced on social media Friday that he struck a deal to buy Russian diesel with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call, aiming to tamp down a spike in fuel prices ahead of the Nov 3 US midterm elections.
The president said Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel to the American and global market, followed by an additional 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons “immediately thereafter”.
Russia will deliver an additional 3 million tons “within a short period of time” after that, he wrote.
The plan runs counter to US efforts to cut the flow of money Russia gets from oil and gas sales that can be used to pay for its war against Ukraine.
Trump’s announcement came just a few weeks after Congress passed legislation that directed Trump to impose substantial tariffs on the top importers of Russian oil or natural gas, with an exception for countries that import less than 15% of Russia’s natural gas exports and have taken significant steps to reduce those imports.
A bipartisan group of six senators called Sunday for the administration to “immediately reverse course” on the plan.
The price of Brent crude, the international standard, was down 1.4 per cent at USD 103.31 per barrel early Monday. US benchmark crude oil fell 1.7 per cent to USD 90.31 per barrel.
Share prices have surged upward, supported by expectations of strong corporate profits, even as Americans say they’re feeling more squeezed by high inflation.
A preliminary report from the University of Michigan said Friday that US consumers are raising their own forecasts for how bad inflation will be over the coming year.
They’re expecting inflation of 4.7 per cent, up from their forecast of 4.6 per cent a month ago and just 3.4 per cent in February before the war with Iran began.
Sentiment among consumers is falling sharply for Americans with lower incomes and smaller investments in stocks, who can least afford the fast increases in the cost of living.
The pressure is on companies to deliver strong growth in profits after their stock prices ran toward records despite the downward push from high bond yields. This week will bring high-profile profit reports from big banks, including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo all on Tuesday.
In other dealings early Monday, the U.S. dollar rose to 158.27 Japanese yen from 158.23 yen. The euro climbed to USD 1.1211 from USD 1.1191. ( PTI )
