Business

Sterling edged up against a broadly weaker dollar on Monday, but lost more ground against the euro as doubts around UK economic growth and Brexit talks continued to weigh on the currency. Doubts over the government’s handling of the Brexit talks and a collapse this month in expectations for a rise in Bank of England interest rates over the next year have pushed the pound back below $1.30 and 90 pence per euro. It dipped 0.2 percent to a 10-month low of 91.51 pence per euro on Monday while gaining around 0.3 percent against the dollar to $1.2909. Both of those moves were largely the result of broader shifts around the dollar, analysts and traders said. (Reuters)

Wall Street edged lower in late morning trading on Monday, led by technology and financial stocks, with caution prevailing amid concerns over the recent turmoil in the White House and simmering tensions between the US and North Korea. At 11:00am ET (1500 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 22.4 points, or 0.1 percent, at 21,652.11 and the S&P 500 was down 1.79 points, or 0.07 percent, at 2,423.76. The Nasdaq Composite was down 24.30 points, or 0.39 percent, at 6,192.23. The Dow’s drop pulled it below its 50-day moving average, meaning that all three indexes were trading below the key technical measure on the same day for the first time since April 18. Three of the 11 S&P sectors were lower. (Reuters)

Greek government bond yields dipped on Monday after Fitch became the second ratings agency to upgrade it to “Single B” status, marking another milestone in the debt-laden country’s slow journey away from default territory. The ratings agency upgraded Greece’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default ratings to ‘B-‘ from ‘CCC’ late on Friday, citing reduced political risk and sustained economic growth. Short-dated Greek government bond yields hit 3.25 percent at one stage, close to their lowest since 2009, a level hit earlier this month. The yield on Greece’s 10-year government bond dropped 5 basis points in early trade to 5.58 percent before trading flat. (Reuters)

World stocks struggled at a 5-1/2-week low on Monday, though metals dazzled with zinc at its highest in a decade, copper hitting a nearly three-year high and iron ore’s gains in the last two sessions stretching to 5 percent. European stocks fell for a third session, though M&A activity helped shipping giant Maersk jump and the rally in metals sent Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Anglo American higher. The dollar fetched 109.24 yen, not far from Friday’s four-month low of 108.605. The euro was also in the doldrums, stuck at $1.1750 as it extended last week's biggest weekly decline in more than two months. US crude futures fetched $48.46 per barrel, down 0.1 percent, while Brent futures were down 0.2 percent at $52.63 per barrel. (Reuters)

UK shares dipped on Monday and were close to revisiting a three-month low as financial stocks fell on geopolitical jitters, though metal prices propped up the heavyweight mining sector. The blue chip FTSE 100 was down 0.2 percent at 7,306.67 points by 0853 GMT, set for its third straight session of losses, in line with a broader “risk-off” move among European bourses. Financials were the biggest weights, taking nearly 9 points off the blue chips, with HSBC and Barclays down 0.6 percent and 1.2 percent respectively. (Reuters)

Emerging equities rose on Monday but currencies such as the rand and ruble struggled in the face of a stronger dollar. MSCI’s benchmark emerging stocks index gained 0.2 percent, with the biggest gains in Asian markets. Emerging Europe delivered a more modest performance, with Moscow and Polish shares up around 0.2-0.3 percent. Emerging currencies such as the South African rand and the Russian ruble were on the backfoot, slipping around 0.4-0.5 percent against the dollar. Emerging European currencies also failed to make headway against the euro, with the Czech crown slipping 0.2 percent after last week’s rally. (Reuters)