(Oil is the August contract on the NY Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). Gold is also the August contract on the COMEX division of the NY Mercantile Exchange, while Silver is the July contract on the COMEX.)
NEW YORK - US stocks finished mixed following heavy losses at the end of last week as investors girded for an interest rate policy meeting of the Federal Reserve amid troubled economic times.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down a slight 0.33 points at 11,842.36.
The tech-dominated Nasdaq composite sank 20.35 points, or 0.85 per cent, to 2,385.74, while the broad-market Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 0.07 points, or 0.01 per cent, to a close of 1,318.00.
All three indices had suffered large falls on Friday, with the Dow tumbling below 12,000 points for the first time since March, amid renewed worries about the financial and auto sectors, and as oil prices pushed higher.
Most economists expect the US central bank to leave its base rate pegged at two per cent following a two-day meeting which kicks off on Tuesday despite tough talk on inflation from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke.
LONDON - Britain’s index of leading shares closed 0.83 per cent higher, recouping some of last week’s losses, as heavyweight energy stocks tracked crude prices higher and defensive drugmakers gained.
The FTSE 100 gained 46.4 points to 5,667.2, having fallen 1.5 per cent on Friday. The commodity-heavy index easily outperformed peers in Germany and France.
FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 6,589.46 points, up 11.02 or 0.17 per cent.
PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 4,511.37 points, up 2.1 or 0.05 per cent.
TOKYO - Japan’s Nikkei stock average slid 0.61 per cent to a nearly one-month closing low as Mitsubishi Estate and other property developers took a beating on reports of lower condominium prices, while blue-chip exporters slid after Wall Street tumbled.
The Nikkei lost 84.61 points to 13,857.47, its lowest since May 28.
HONG KONG - Shares moved sideways in skittish trade, as a rally in offshore oil producer CNOOC on climbing global oil prices was offset by caution over an expected interest rate hike from Beijing.
The Hang Seng Index closed down 0.13 per cent, or 30.64 points, at 22,714.96.
WELLINGTON - The New Zealand sharemarket staged a comeback as bargain hunters appeared to hop off the sidelines.
After falling 1.7 per cent to a 30-month low on Friday, the New Zealand market shook off growing gloom on Wall St and closed up 0.1 per cent or 4.31 points to 3287.55.
SYDNEY - The Australian share market is expected to open lower after industrial metals and gold fell in overnight trading.
At 0750 AEST on the Sydney Futures exchange, the September share price index was down 13 points at 5,264.
In company news today, Brambles Ltd is expected to announce a trading update.
BHP Billiton Ltd chief executive Marius Kloppers will host a briefing on steelmaking materials business.
The Environment Business Australia forum on the cost of climate change on infrastructure investment will be held.
Yesterday, the Australian share market recovered from earlier losses to end marginally in the red, after taking its lead from a rout on Wall Street over the weekend.
At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 4.6 points, or 0.09 per cent, at 5,283.7, while the broader All Ordinaries fell 2.9 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 5,408.9.
NYMEX
US crude oil futures ended higher on Monday on fears that an oil workers’ strike in Nigeria could widen to enlarge output outages following recent attacks on oil facilities there.
Saudi Arabia’s output boost, deemed too little to limit soaring prices, also supported oil futures, as did Middle East tensions, especially over Iran’s nuclear program.
A stronger dollar did cause crude futures to seesaw from an early peak, but supply uncertainty preserved upward momentum.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, new front-month August crude settled up $US1.38, or 1.02 per cent, at $US136.74 per barrel, trading from $US134.05 to $US138.14.
The front-month record high $US139.89 was struck June 16.
In London, August Brent crude ended up $US1.05, or 0.78 per cent, at $US135.91 a barrel.
NYMEX July RBOB finished 1.59 cents, or 0.46 per cent, higher at $US3.4551 a gallon.
July heating oil ended up 2.47 cents, or 0.65 per cent, at $US3.7964 a gallon.
LONDON METALS EXCHANGE
Aluminium rose to its highest level in more than three months on Monday and expectations are for further gains as the market prices in rising energy costs.
Aluminium touched $US3,169 a tonne, its highest since March 14 and a gain of about 25 per cent since the beginning of this year. Prices are only about $US150 from the record high of $US3,310 a tonne seen in May 2006.
It closed at $US3,143 a tonne from $US3,150 on Friday.
Prices of aluminium used widely in power, packaging and construction have been boosted this year by power shortages in China and rising costs of energy, which make up about one-third to 45 per cent of smelting costs.
Analysts estimate average costs of smelting aluminium at around $US2,500 a tonne.
Supply disruptions in India, Brazil, Australia and the United States have also helped to boost sentiment.
Copper for three-month delivery ended slightly down at $US8,400 on the London Metal Exchange from $US8,435 at Friday’s close. Earlier the metal, used extensively in power and construction, hit $US8,490, the highest since May 19.
In New York, copper for July delivery ended down 2.25 cents at $US3.8095 a pound, after touching $US3.8505, the highest since May 19.
Copper hit a record high of $US8,880 on April 17 and has since come under pressure from worries about weaker demand from China, the world’s largest consumer.
A stronger dollar has also weighed on copper, used as a base metals benchmark by investors. A higher US currency makes metals denominated in dollars more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Nickel closed at $US21,850 a tonne from $US22,400 a tonnes. Sentiment in the nickel market has been hit by expectations of a slowdown at stainless steel mills.
Zinc was at $US1,926 from $US1,945 on Friday, lead at $US1,865 from $US1,880 and tin at $US23,300 from $US22,700.
COMEX
Gold tumbled nearly three per cent in volatile trade on Monday, ending just above $US880 an ounce as a sudden rise in the dollar against the euro prompted panic selling by funds in exchange for cash.
However, a resurgence in physical demand after gold dipped below $US880 an ounce put a floor in prices.
Gold was at $US883.45 an ounce by New York’s last quote, against $902.05 late on Friday. It touched a session low of $US877.00.
Silver fell almost five per cent to a session low of $US16.56 an ounce, then recovered and was last at $US16.79 against its US close of $US17.40 on Friday.
The gold contract for August delivery on COMEX division of New York Mercantile Exchange settled down $US16.50, or 1.8 per cent, at $US887.20 an ounce.
Among other precious metals, spot platinum slipped to $US2,043.50 an ounce from $US2,058.50 late in New York on Friday.
Palladium was last at $US468.00 an ounce from its Friday’s U.S. finish of $US473.50 an ounce.
