GLOBAL FX-
U.S. President Donald Trump pressed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday to even out a trade imbalance with the United States and expressed confidence, despite Japanese wariness, that “good things” would come from North Korea.Trump is on a four-day state visit to Japan meant to showcase the alliance between the two nations, but which has also been shadowed by trade tensions.
Profits for China’s industrial firms dropped in April on slowing demand and manufacturing activity, suggesting the previous month’s rebound may have been a one-off and adding pressure for policymakers to step up support for a cooling economy.Industrial profits declined 3.7% year-on-year to 515.4 billion yuan ($74.80 billion)in April, according to data published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday. That compared with a 13.9% surge in March, which was the biggest gain in eight months.For the first four months, industrial firms notched up profits of 1.81 trillion yuan, down 3.4% from a year earlier, compared with a 3.3% drop in the first quarter this year.
Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party stormed to victory in a European election, riding a wave of anger at the failure of Prime Minister Theresa May to take the United Kingdom out of the European Union.A European Parliament election that the United Kingdom only took part in because May delayed Brexit showed a country even more polarised over the EU divorce nearly three years since a 2016 referendum in which it voted 52% to 48% to leave.
The euro held firm in early Monday trade after pro-European Union parties withstood more fragmentation than before to hold on to two-thirds of seats in the EU parliament elections, limiting gains in nationalist opponents.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump will discuss North Korea, U.S.-Japan economic issues and next month’s Group of 20 summit, the Japanese premier said on Monday.Speaking ahead of the talks, Abe added that he was determined to showcase the strength of the two nations’ alliance. Earlier, Trump met new Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako in the ceremonial highlight of a state visit overshadowed by trade tensions between the allies.
Japan's government said on Monday that high-tech industries will be added to a list of businesses for which foreign ownership of Japanese firms is restricted.The new rule, effective Aug. 1, comes amid heightening pressure from the United States in dealing with cyber-security risks and technological transfers involving China.
Asia stocks inched up but remained near four-month lows on Monday amid concerns about U.S.-China tensions while the euro stayed in a narrow range after the weekend's European Parliament elections.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2 percent, off a four-month low touched on Friday, with market holidays in the U.S. and U.K. denting trading volumes.
Gold prices rose on Monday as fears of a protracted U.S.-China trade war hurt risk sentiment, while poor economic data from the United States bolstered bets of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut.Spot gold edged up 0.2% to $1,286.89 per ounce as of 0129 GMT, rising for a third session in a row.U.S. gold futures also gained 0.2%, to $1,285.50 an ounce.
Oil prices fell on Monday, extending losses from last week when crude dropped the most this year on concerns the Sino-U.S. trade war could trigger a broad economic slowdown, although OPEC’s supply cuts provided some support.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $58.24 per barrel at 0541 GMT, down 39 cents, or 0.7%, from their last settlement.Front-month Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $68.58 per barrel, 11 cents, or 0.2%, below their last close.