Asia
China’s Shanghai Composite continued its weaker trend today, dropping below 3,200 points with a modest daily loss.
The Bank of Japan meets this week and will produce its outlook report and rate decision on Thursday. After that, a range of economic data, including industrial production, retail sales and jobless figures, will be released.
Europe
As London traders return from the extended Easter break, there is a renewed attempt by the FTSE 100 to hit 7,500 points after a number of attempts. This move was despite a move higher in the pound back above $1.30.
The FTSE 100’s gain was in contrast to the sea of red seen across European stock markets this morning.
North America
There are plenty of variables for US investors to grapple with this week, including resurgent oil prices, the NASDAQ hitting a six-month high, and a raft of earnings from tech giants. Today sees Twitter (TWTR) report numbers from the first quarter and auction house eBay (EBAY).
We are now deep in the tech section of Q1 earnings season: Facebook (FB) and Microsoft (MSFT) report on Wednesday, while Amazon (AMZN) reports after the market closes on Thursday.
US futures point to a flat open on Tuesday as investors weigh up the significance of around 1 million barrels of oil a day being removed from the market in the next week or so. Crude prices moved higher on these latest US sanctions on Iran, with Brent moving up to $74.50, a year-to-date high.
In economics, Canada is expected to hold interest rates at 1.75% on Wednesday, while Friday will see US GDP for the first quarter released.