Equities are likely to slide in early Monday trading, continuing last week’s downward trend after a disappointing US jobs report Friday and China’s worrying inflation figures released Monday.
Major European markets are closed Monday for Easter, while Americans will be back to work after the long weekend.All eyes are on the US reaction to the disappointing statistics. However, reaction to the jobs report is likely to be short-lived, as investors must have digested the bad news over the holiday weekend and are likely to concentrate on upcoming speeches by Federal Reserve officials, including Chairman Ben Bernanke later on Monday.
After both the RTS and MICEX lost 1.8% on Friday, the Russian indices are expected to open on a negative note, proving sensitive to the news from the US, and tracking Asia lower after China’s inflation accelerated more than forecast.
Mainland Chinese shares declined after the National Bureau of Statistics said consumer prices in China rose 3.6% from a year earlier.
China’s Shanghai Composite gave up 0.65%. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average is down 1.1%. Stock markets in Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines and Australia were closed for public holidays.