European Stocks Inch Lower in Quiet Trade
May 02 2016 - 4:30AM
Dow Jones News
European stocks were little changed in quiet trade Monday, with
markets in the U.K. and Ireland closed for a holiday.
The Stoxx Europe 600 inched down 0.2% early in the session,
weighed by the financial sector. Italian banks led losses, with
Italy's Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA down over 7%.
The moves followed a downbeat session in Asia. Chinese factory
activity in China edged down in April, an official gauge showed,
signaling a modest weakening of momentum for the world's
second-largest economy.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 3.1% as the market reopened
from a holiday, hit by a recent appreciation of the yen and
continued disappointment over the Bank of Japan's decision to leave
monetary policy unchanged Thursday. Australia's S&P ASX 200
edged down 0.2%, while markets in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore
were closed.
Wall Street ended lower Friday as a selloff in tech shares
deepened, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average still managed to
post a third consecutive month of gains.
In commodities, Brent crude oil fell 1% to $46.89 a barrel,
while gold prices were up 0.4% at $1295.70, close to a 15-month
high.
Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 02, 2016 04:15 ET (08:15 GMT)
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