Stocks trade cautiously in Asia, Brent off six-month top
SPY•SPY•SPY•SPY•Asian stocks traded cautiously as Brent crude fell 1.6% to $114.88 from a six-month high ahead of central bank meetings and major earnings reports.
Asian stock markets traded cautiously on Monday as oil eased ahead of a week of central bank meetings and corporate earnings. Brent fell 1.6% to $114.88 a barrel after rising 6.2% last week to its highest weekly close since mid-2022; U.S. crude fell 1.9% to $101.29.
Markets expect the Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan and European Central Bank to hold rates this week, while New Zealand is widely expected to raise rates on Wednesday. U.S. core inflation is forecast to remain at 3.1% in September, and the economy is forecast to have grown at a 3.2% annualized pace.
Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon are among the companies reporting this week, alongside about one-third of S&P 500 companies. Consensus estimates cited in the article put Microsoft revenue at $90.6 billion and adjusted EPS at $4.73, Amazon revenue at $202 billion and EPS around $1.97, and Alphabet revenue at $128 billion and EPS at $3.00.
