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Top 5 things to know in the market on Monday

Published 2017-08-14, 05:44 a/m
Updated 2017-08-14, 05:54 a/m
© Reuters.  Top 5 things to know today in financial markets

© Reuters. Top 5 things to know today in financial markets

Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Monday, August 14:

1. U.S.-North Korea stand-off calms

Geopolitical concerns appeared to fade as U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson both said on Sunday that the Trump administration would continue to seek diplomatic resolutions with Pyongyang.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo and national security adviser H.R. McMaster also said there was no indication war with North Korea will break out.

Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday called for a peaceful resolution to the North Korean nuclear issue, and urged all sides to avoid words or action that raise tensions.

The soothing comments came after Present Donald Trump said late last week that military options against the hermit state were “locked and loaded”.

The war of words between the two countries erupted after Trump warned North Korea it would face "fire and fury" if it threatened the U.S.

That prompted Pyongyang to say it was considering plans to fire missiles at the U.S.-held Pacific island of Guam.

2. Global stocks bounce back after North Korea-driven losses

Global stock markets were mostly higher, bouncing back after fears of a U.S.-North Korea nuclear standoff drove them to the biggest weekly losses of 2017.

Stock markets across Asia ended mostly in positive territory, recovering after three straight losing sessions.

The upward momentum carried over into Europe, where stocks rose from their lowest levels in almost five months. Germany's DAX jumped more than 1% in mid-morning trade.

Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street, with the Dow futures rising almost 100 points, or roughly 0.4%.

3. Havens slump as investors shun safety plays

Traditional safe haven assets like the yen, Swiss franc and gold were all lower, as geopolitical concerns eased after senior U.S. officials sought to play down risks of a military conflict with North Korea.

The dollar rose around 0.5% to 109.70 yen after slipping to 108.72 on Friday, its weakest since April 20.

The greenback was also higher against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF advancing 0.5% to 0.9666.

Meanwhile, gold prices were down roughly 0.5% at $1,288.15, pulling back from their highest level in around two months.

All three assets posted strong gains last week as heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea sparked a flight to safety.

4. Bitcoin surges past $4,200 as monster rally continues

Bitcoin prices surged above the $4,200-level as a monster rally continued amid growing optimism over the digital currency's future.

Prices were last at $4,207.40 on the on the U.S.-based Bitfinex exchange, up about $150, or 4%. It rose to an all-time peak of $4,230.0 earlier.

The cryptocurrency has now quadrupled in value for the year, taking the total value of Bitcoin in circulation to almost $70 billion.

5. Markets largely unfazed by Japan, China data

Markets were largely unfazed by a slew of activity data from Japan and China.

Japan's economy expanded at an annualized rate of 4.0% in the second quarter, the fastest pace of growth since the first quarter of 2015, led by private consumption and capital expenditure.

While growth was faster than expected, it is not expected to nudge the Bank of Japan into dismantling its massive stimulus program any time soon, as inflation remains stubbornly weak.

In China, data showed that factory output rose 6.4% in July from a year earlier, the slowest pace since January, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Fixed asset investment and retail sales also rose less than expected.

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