Asian markets fell on Monday, with Japan's Nikkei down 0.76 percent, South Korea's Kospi down 1.6 percent and China's CSI 300 down 0.7 percent, while Brent crude eased below 110 dollars a barrel and Indian shares recovered after a weak open.
Asian equity markets traded mostly lower on Monday, October 26, as dearer energy and caution before a week of central-bank decisions kept buyers on the sidelines. Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.76 percent after losing 4 percent last week, South Korea's Kospi fell 1.6 percent, extending its losses for the month to nearly 20 percent, and China's blue-chip CSI 300 declined 0.7 percent.
India followed the same cautious pattern before recovering. The Sensex and the Nifty had fallen 2.4 percent and 2.2 percent respectively last week, dropping in all four sessions as surging crude and Middle East tensions fed inflation and energy-supply worries. On Monday the Sensex rebounded more than 200 points after a weak opening, leaving the Nifty roughly flat, with GIFT Nifty futures at 22,608 pointing to a muted start against Friday's Nifty close of 22,600.
Oil gave back part of last week's surge. Brent crude fell back below 110 dollars a barrel, trading near 109.50 dollars after closing Friday at 116.72 dollars, while West Texas Intermediate crude fell more than 2 percent intraday to about 100.80 dollars. Brent had gained more than 6 percent last week and WTI 4.4 percent, after Houthi attacks on Saudi targets and United States-Iran tensions pushed Brent toward a six-month high.
The market numbers in this report follow one morning snapshot for Asia and one intraday snapshot for oil, and other trackers published slightly different intraday moves for the same session, which is normal for a moving market. Gold hovered near 4,000 dollars an ounce, and Bitcoin traded near 80,000 dollars, with traders positioning for the Federal Reserve's decision on Wednesday, the European Central Bank on Thursday and the Bank of Japan on Friday.
The week ahead is what gives Monday's moves their weight. Germany's Ifo survey and United States activity data opened the data calendar, and the Fed's decision, United States third-quarter growth figures and September inflation data follow. If oil keeps easing, some of the inflation pressure that weighed on Asia last week eases with it; if Middle East tensions flare again, the premium returns quickly, and that is why the region's markets are moving in small steps rather than committing to a direction.