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Asian stocks fell in cautious trading on Monday amid fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spark a wider conflict in the oil-rich region.<\/p>\n
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office today denied reports of a ceasefire in Gaza that would enable aid to enter and foreigners to flee to Egypt, 10 days into the war with Hamas.<\/p>\n
The dollar index was down slightly ahead of a slew of U.S. economic data and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech due this week.<\/p>\n
Gold fell more than 1 percent after recent sharp gains, while crude prices were a tad lower after soaring nearly 6 percent on Friday.<\/p>\n
Chinese shares closed lower after reports of tighter U.S. curbs on technology<\/span> exports to China and ahead of GDP, retail sales and industrial production data due this week.<\/p>\n The downside remained capped after the People’s Bank of China ramped up liquidity support to shore up a wobbly economy<\/span>. The central bank rolled over medium-term policy loans while keeping the interest rate unchanged.<\/p>\n China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.5 percent to 3,073.81, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slumped 1.0 percent to 17,640.36.<\/p>\n Japanese shares led regional losses as tensions in the Middle East escalated and investors looked ahead to the release of inflation data this week for directional cues.<\/p>\n The Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 2.0 percent to 31,659.03, while the broader Topix Index settled 1.6 percent lower at 2,273.54. Chip-related shares succumbed to selling pressure, tracking declines in the U.S. peers on Friday.<\/p>\n Advantest, Tokyo Electron and Screen Holdings lost 4-5 percent. Technology start-up investor SoftBank ended down a little over 2 percent.<\/p>\n Lawson rallied 2.3 percent and Ryohin Keikaku soared 8.9 percent on encouraging earnings news.<\/p>\n Seoul stocks ended notably lower, with the Kospi falling 0.8 percent to 2,436.24 following reports that Israel is preparing for a ground offensive into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Samsung Electronics, LG Energy Solution and LG Chem shed 1-3 percent.<\/p>\n Australian markets<\/span> ended with modest losses as investors awaited the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) October meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, to gauge the outlook for interest rates.<\/p>\n The benchmark S&P ASX 200 Index ended down 0.4 percent at 7,026.50, with tech stocks leading losses. The broader All Ordinaries Index slipped 0.4 percent to 7,214.60.<\/p>\n Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P NZX-50 Index fell 0.7 percent to 11,185.08 after the country elected a center-right government.<\/p>\n Fletcher Building shares plunged 11.6 percent despite the construction materials maker denying claims that plumbing failures reported in several homes in Australia were due to a manufacturing defect in the pipes it produced.<\/p>\n U.S. stocks fell broadly on Friday as data showed a slump in consumer sentiment and a surge in inflation expectations. <\/p>\n Surging crude prices on fears about an escalating war in the Middle East also spooked markets. <\/p>\n The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1.2 percent and the S&P 500 shed half a percent, with a decrease in Treasury yields helping limit the downside to some extent. The Dow inched up 0.1 percent after strong bank earnings. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n