Local shares are poised for a flat start with global equities little changed before key central-bank policy meetings and as investors await a slew of corporate results.
What you need2know
SPI futures up 2 pts at 5485 at about 6.15am Sydney time
AUD +0.1% to 74.66 US cents, 79.04 Japanese yen, 67.97 Euro cents and 56.88 British pence
On Wall St, Dow -0.4%, S&P 500 -0.3%, Nasdaq flat
In New York, BHP -1%, Rio -0.9%
In Europe, Stoxx 50 flat, FTSE -0.3%, CAC +0.2%, DAX +0.5%
Spot gold -0.2% to $US1319.50 an ounce
Brent crude -2.3% to $US44.65 a barrel
Iron ore +1.8% to $US56.86 per tonne
What's on today
NZ trade balance
Currencies
The US dollar advanced against 13 of its 16 peers, climbing at least 0.7 per cent against Mexico's peso and Canada's dollar. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index added 0.2 per cent, headed for the highest close since March.
Brazil's real joined a slide in emerging markets on Monday as policy makers intervened to weaken the currency and economists cut economic forecasts amid uncertainty on budget plans. Turkey's lira climbed 1.1 per cent, the most among 31 major currencies.
Commodities
Oil dropped to the lowest in three months in New York after US producers increased drilling for a fourth week even as the market contends with abundant stockpiles.
Brent for September settlement slipped $US1.04, or 2.3 per cent, to $US44.65 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The global benchmark touched $US44.55, the lowest since May 10.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange ended down 0.4 per cent at $US4900 a tonne, while zinc reversed Friday's losses to close up 0.2 per cent at $US2249, having earlier risen to within striking distance of last week's 14-month high. Zinc's sister metal lead ended up 0.1 per cent at $US1843, while nickel ended up 0.5 per cent at $US10,475, having earlier headed up near last week's 11 month peak.
United States
US stocks receded from record highs on Monday as oil weighed on energy shares and investors awaited an avalanche of quarterly reports.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 78.34 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 18,492.51, the S&P 500 lost 6.53 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 2168.5 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.53 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 5097.63.
Europe
After starting the day with a strong rally, European equities pared most of their gains, with a decline in oil weighing on energy producers.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.2 per cent at the close of trading in London, trimming a gain of as much as 0.8 per cent following confidence data that showed companies may have withstood the initial shock of the UK vote to leave the European Union. Oil firms sank the most since July 6, dragging the benchmark gauge down as much as 0.2 per cent before it recovered.
Germany's DAX Index climbed 0.5 per cent for the best gain among major western-European markets. Benchmark gauges of Italy and Greece were some of the biggest decliners, falling more than 0.5 per cent. The UK's FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.3 per cent.
What happened yesterday
Shares began the week in a buoyant mood, helped along by blue chip Woolworths which posted its strongest day in almost 20 years after the supermarket owner announced a major operations overhaul.
The consumer staples sector led a broad rally on the index as most of the top 200 stocks ended the day with gains, with the exception of mining and energy stocks, which fell on the back of lower commodity prices.
The S&P/ASX 200 ended trade 0.6 per cent or 35 points higher to 5533.6, marking yet another 11-month high, while the broader All Ordinaries finished 0.6 per cent or 33 points higher to 5607.5.
