Seoul Gazette - Stocks mostly rise before tech earnings, central bank calls

"The AI complex remains under a microscope ahead of what may be the most important stretch of earnings season so far," noted SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.

"Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon are about to walk on stage, and this is not one of those quarters where a company can simply beat the number, raise the guidance by a whisker and expect applause. Investors want proof now.

"They want to know whether the billions going into the compute buildout are building a durable earnings machine or just a shinier version of the same old capex furnace," Innes added.

This week also sees the release of earnings from South Korean chipmakers SK hynix and Samsung.

Results from Tesla and Meta last week stoked spending worries that weighed on stock markets.

Wall Street ended in the red Friday, and Asia followed suit at the open on Monday, although some staged a recovery.

Europe's main stock markets were higher in late morning deals.

Oil prices dropped moderately following Friday's surge of more than three percent fuelled by supply concerns heading into the northern hemisphere winter.

- Interest rate calls -

Also in view this week are monetary policy decisions from the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of Japan (BoJ).

While the Fed is expected to hold borrowing costs Wednesday, traders will be keen to get an insight into its thinking following last month's hike and as inflation remains well above its two percent target.

France's deteriorating public finances will take centre stage when the ECB meets Thursday, but policymakers are not expected to throw a lifeline to the eurozone's second-biggest economy just yet.

The ECB is set to keep interest rates on hold, having hiked twice this year, walking a fine line between tamping down inflation fuelled by the US-Iran war energy shock and supporting the eurozone economy.

The BoJ is also forecast to sit tight this month, while the Bank of England is widely expected to hike in November after a jump for UK inflation ahead of the country's annual budget announcement due Wednesday.

- Key figures at around 1045 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 10,738.81 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.8 percent at 7,841.19

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.9 percent at 25,396.97

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.8 percent at 62,189.65 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 percent at 23,211.81 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,697.52 (close)

New York - Dow: DOWN 1.2 percent at 52,215.16 (close)

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.6 percent at $114.80 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.2 percent at $101.00 per barrel

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1201 from $1.1194 on Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3351 from $1.3372

Dollar/yen: UP at 157.38 yen from 156.87 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 83.90 pence from 83.71 pence

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A.Byun--SG