Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Monday, August 7:
1. OPEC / non-OPEC meeting kicks off
Market players looked ahead to a highly-anticipated meeting of oil ministers from some OPEC and non-OPEC producers to assess how the group can increase compliance with production cuts that began at the start of the year.
The two-day gathering that kicks off later in Abu Dhabi will discuss members’ compliance levels to the agreed-upon global production limits that run through March 2018.
Oil prices were on the back foot ahead of the meeting. U.S. crude was last at $48.92 a barrel, down 66 cents, or about 1.3%, while Brent oil slumped 68 cents, or roughly 1.3%, to $51.74 a barrel.
2. Dollar cools as jobs-data rally fades
The dollar was a shade lower, following sharp gains made in the previous session, as the boost from Friday’s stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data faded.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global peers, inched down around 0.1% to 93.27. It rallied roughly 0.8% on Friday, its biggest one-day gain so far this year.
With no major economic reports due today, market players looked ahead to monthly inflation indicators later in the week for fresh clues on the timing of the next Federal Reserve rate hike.
Comments from St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari later in the session could offer fresh clues on future monetary policy moves.
3. Global stocks hit all-time highs
Global stock markets were mostly higher, as better-than-expected company earnings and economic data from the U.S. buoyed sentiment.
The MSCI All-Country World Index (NASDAQ:ACWI) increased 0.2% to the highest on record.
Asian bourses were higher across the board, gaining about 0.5% each.
In Europe, shares inched up as gains in basic resources and energy stocks helped the continent's benchmarks build on the previous week's sizable rally.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street, with the blue-chip Dow futures up 41 points, or 0.2%, on pace to hit another record high.
The S&P 500 futures ticked up 4 points, or about 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures rose 10 points, or roughly 0.2%.
4. Bitcoin soars above $3,000 to new record
Bitcoin surged above $3,000 to reach a new all-time high, amid easing concern over the digital currency's future following last week's relatively uneventful 'hard fork' split.
Prices leapt by as much as 16% from Friday to an all-time peak of $3,310.00 on the U.S.-based Bitfinex exchange. It was last at $3,274.10 (BTC/USD).
The cryptocurrency has now more than tripled in value for the year, taking the total value of Bitcoin in circulation to more than $50 billion for the first time ever.
5. North Korea sanctions in focus
Markets await to hear Pyongyang's response to U.N. sanctions over the weekend.
The U.N. Security Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea on Saturday aimed at pressuring the hermit state to end its controversial nuclear program. The sanctions could slash North Korea's $3 billion annual export revenue by a third.
North Korea denounced the latest sanctions, saying they infringe on its sovereignty and vowed to take "righteous action", the North's official news agency said.
"There is no bigger mistake than the United States believing that its land is safe across the ocean," KCNA said.