In Asia Japan’s Nikkei index rose on Monday. The Nikkei rose 0.4% to 16,167.63 points by midmorning, bucking regional weakness. The Shanghai Composite fell 1.59%. In China, monthly trade data released on Sunday, which showed that both exports and imports fell more than expected in April, added to concerns over the health of the world’s second largest economy.
In Currency Markets the dollar edged higher versus the yen on Monday following a choppy end to last week, while disappointing trade figures out of China barely dented an already defensive Australian dollar. The greenback advanced 0.2% to 107.30 yen. The euro held steady at $1.1407. The Aussie fell more than 3% last week – its second worst weekly performance this year, reaching a two-month trough of $0.7338 on Friday. It last traded at $0.7378, up 0.1% on the day.
Crude oil prices climbed higher in early trade this morning as the market honed in on China’s strong crude imports last month despite Saudi Arabia’s unexpected removal of its long-serving oil minister Ali al-Naimi. U.S. crude’s West Texas Intermediate futures traded at $45.49 a barrel, up 1.9%. Brent crude rose 1.3%, to $45.96 a barrel. China’s crude imports rose 7.6% on-year last month, marking the third straight month that crude imports surpassed 30 million tons.
In US Equity Markets stocks advanced to halt a three-day fall, after the smallest jobs gain in seven months fueled speculation the Federal Reserve will look to raise interest rates gradually. The S&P 500 added 0.3% to 2,057.14. Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ:ATVI) jumped 8.5% after posting first quarter earnings and sales that topped estimates and boosting its outlook for 2016. Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) rose 9.1% after saying it’s in late-stage talks to resolve a Federal Trade Commission probe into whether the nutrition company is a pyramid scheme.
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