Seoul Gazette - Stocks tepid on uncertainty over earnings, tech rally, US rates

On Wall Street the Dow was flat two hours into the session while the tech-heavy Nasdaq had added a paltry 0.2 percent. The broader-based S&P 500 Index was off by just under of 0.1 percent.

Europe lacked inspiration with the DAX closing off 1.2 percent while London and Paris lost marginal ground.

Major Asian indices had earlier finished down amid simmering tensions between China and Japan which hit tourism and retail firms on Tokyo's exchange.

Besides Nvidia, which was off 1.1 percent, US retailers including Home Depot, Target and Walmart are also set to release their earnings reports.

Those will be monitored for signs of how consumers are faring as President Donald Trump's international trade tariffs bite.

Traders are also awaiting US government data on how the labour market fared in September. The numbers are due for publication Thursday, after the end of the longest government shutdown in US history.

"It'll be the first glimpse of some macro news" that could provide hints on the Fed's preferred path for interest rates moving forward, said Peter Cardillo from Spartan Capital Securities.

Among companies, he added: "It's all up to Nvidia, whether or not it can turn the souring negative sentiment on the AI sector."

The tepid mood on trading floors dragged on the crypto sector, with bitcoin briefly erasing all its gains this year -- just over a month after hitting a record high.

The European Union on Monday cut its eurozone growth forecast for 2026 as risks from international trade and geopolitical tensions weighed on Europe's economy.

Investors have in recent weeks reconsidered prospects for US rate cuts and the AI-fuelled tech rally that had lifted several markets to record highs.

Traders are keenly awaiting the release of several reports -- including on jobs and inflation -- that had been held up by the record US government shutdown that ended last week.

With data releases delayed, "chances are growing that the Fed will avoid changing monetary policy when the economic outlook remains murky", said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB.

Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell signalled last month that a December cut to borrowing costs was not assured, adding to uncertainty.

All eyes are on this week's release of earnings from chip titan Nvidia, the world's most valuable company, which late last month hit a market capitalisation of $5.0 trillion before slipping back.

Bitcoin suffered from the uncertain climate on trading floors, with the digital unit briefly dropping to $92,935.51.

It bounced back slightly to sit above $94,000 on Monday. The cryptocurrency had climbed to a record high of $126,251 on October 6, buoyed by Trump's pledges to ease regulation on the crypto sector.

- Key figures at around 1650 GMT -

New York - Dow: FLAT at 47,141.61 points

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 6,745.31

New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 22,962.65

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 9,675.43 points (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.6 percent at 8,119.02 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.2 percent at 23,590.52 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 50,323.91 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.7 percent at 26,384.28 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.5 percent at 3,972.03 (close)

Dollar/yen: UP at 155.19 yen from 154.55 yen on Friday

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1598 from $1.1621

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3174 from $1.3171

Euro/pound: DOWN at 88.01 pence from 88.22 pence

West Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $60.11 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $64.43 per barrel

B.Lee--SG