Seoul Gazette - Stock markets, dollar retreat

With volumes thin, US futures were also pointing lower after losses on Friday that put paid to Wall Street's usual holiday period "Santa Claus rally".

"We can’t drive major conclusions in a holiday-shortened and thin-trading-volume week, but last week's price action looked pretty close to the narrative of rotation from tech to non-tech stocks that many investors expect to be the theme of next year," noted Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.

US tech stocks had led the losses Friday, with Elon Musk's electric car giant Tesla shedding around five percent and AI chipmaker Nvidia off around two percent.

Weighing on sentiment were worries about slower-than-hoped US interest rate cuts and possible higher import tariffs once Trump is inaugurated on January 20.

Tokyo closed down almost one percent Monday, its last day of trading until January 6.

Nissan fell as much as 6.7 percent on worries about its mooted merger with fellow Japanese automaker Honda.

Overall the Nikkei 225 index gained almost 20 percent in 2024, finally surpassing the high seen before Japan's asset bubble burst in the 1990s.

London and Frankfurt dipped in late morning deals Monday, while Paris edged up. Oil prices steadied.

In Seoul, Jeju Air shares fell as much as 15 percent after one of its planes crashed in South Korea on Sunday, killing 179 people.

Another Jeju Air flight had to return after encountering a landing gear problem on Monday, the airline said.

Korean authorities ordered an inspection of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country's carriers.

South Korea was also hit with further political turmoil, with authorities issuing an arrest warrant for suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol after his declaration of martial law.

- Key figures around 1045 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,132.77 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 7,363.77

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.1 percent at 19,958.37

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.0 percent at 39,894.54 points (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 20,041.42 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,407.33

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0437 from $1.0429 on Friday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2589 from $1.2579

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 157.76 yen from 157.89 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 82.90 pence from 82.87 pence

West Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $70.60 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.1 percent at $74.11 per barrel

F.Kang--SG