Seoul Gazette - Stocks mostly rise ahead of US pricing data, ECB meeting

Global stocks slumped Friday after data showing weaker-than-expected US jobs growth.

Following Friday's sharp losses -- which came on the heels of drops earlier in the week -- a rebound attempt was no surprise, said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

"It is simply the start of something after big losses, which makes it reflexive in nature," he said in a note to clients before trading began.

"Will there be a successful buy-the-dip rebound or will the gains invite renewed selling pressure?"

Wall Street indices spent the entire session in positive territory, with all three major indices ending up about 1.2 percent.

Apple announced new iPhones built for generative artificial intelligence as it hopes to reignite growth after a difficult period for sales. The tech giant's shares climbed less than 0.1 percent.

Markets are looking ahead to Wednesday's consumer price index report, which will be closely scrutinized ahead of an upcoming Federal Reserve decision.

The Fed is widely expected to cut US interest rates on September 18, but markets are not sure by how much.

In Europe, investors awaited an expected interest-rate cut from the European Central Bank on Thursday.

The European Central Bank is set to cut eurozone borrowing costs once more as inflation in the single-currency bloc drifts back towards the ECB's two-percent target.

"Wage pressure has been a key driver of eurozone inflation this year, and now that it is retreating it could allow the ECB to embark on a prolonged rate-cutting cycle," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading platform XTB.

Asian shares ended lower on Monday.

A slight uptick in Chinese inflation did little to soothe worries about the world's number-two economy, with the reading at a six-month high but missing forecasts.

Oil prices clawed back some of Friday's big losses in a move seen as a technical bounce and supported by forecasts of a Gulf of Mexico storm that could curtail output in the US oil-producing region.

- Key figures around 2040 GMT -

New York - Dow: UP 1.2 percent at 40,829.59 (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 1.2 percent at 5,471.05 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: UP 1.2 percent at 16,884.60 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 1.1 percent at 8,270.84 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.0 percent at 7,425.26 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.8 percent at 18,443.56 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.5 percent at 36,215.75 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 17,196.96 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.1 percent at 2,736.49 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1041 from $1.1084 on Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3075 from $1.3129

Dollar/yen: UP at 143.11 yen from 142.30 yen

Euro/pound: FLAT at 84.42 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.1 percent at $71.84 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.5 percent at $68.71 per barrel

burs-jmb/aha

Q.Min--SG