Seoul Gazette - Stocks steady as investors weigh US rate path

Technology stocks led gains in Asia, while equities in Europe were more subdued midday trading.

Hopes that the Federal Reserve will not tighten policy next month has helped boost equities, with closely watched reports pointing to a softening labour market and easing inflation, even though it remains above the central bank's two percent target.

The data suggested that traders are taking a "bad news is good news" approach, but figures on Friday raised questions about the health of the economy and led observers to warn that investors should be careful what they wish for.

Oil prices edged higher as the United States and Iran showed no signs of reaching a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic after nearly six months of war.

"There are still concerns that this prolonged energy pain will feed into inflation," said Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club.

"It creates the awkward prospect of sluggish growth colliding with renewed price pressures, making the central bankers' task of keeping inflation in check and the economy running healthily considerably more difficult," she added.

Tehran fired back on Saturday at US President Donald Trump's claim that he would soon declare the Hormuz strait part of US territory, saying the crucial energy waterway "will remain Iranian".

Trump has repeatedly insisted that the strait, which Tehran effectively closed at the start of the Middle East war in late February, is under US control despite traffic remaining throttled.

On the corporate front, attention now turns to the release of earnings this week from retail titans Walmart, Home Depot and Target, which could give a clearer view of sentiment among American consumers.

In Asia, Hong Kong was lifted by tech giants Alibaba, Tencent and JD.com, while Shanghai and Taipei were also up. Seoul was closed for a holiday.

Tokyo advanced as the chipmaker Kioxia soared more than 15 percent, while SoftBank, Advantest and Tokyo Electron rose between 1.6 and 2.6 percent.

The dollar remained lower against major currencies after dropping on Friday in reaction to the latest economic data.

- Key figures at around 1100 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 10,764.73 points

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,624.98

Frankfurt - DAX: FLAT at 26,448.06

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 69,220.25 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.3 percent at 25,453.23 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.4 percent at 3,982.65 (close)

New York - DOW: DOWN 0.2 percent at 53,732.41 (close)

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.9 percent at $89.28 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $82.85 per barrel

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1592 from $1.1567 on Friday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3557 from $1.3535

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 159.17 yen from 159.38 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 85.53 pence from 85.46 pence

E.Ma--SG