Shares were mostly lower Monday in Asia and oil prices fell after rising last week to their highest level in more than four years.
asserted
prices → fall → years
U.S. futures edged higher.
asserted
futures → edge → ?
Analysts said investors were bracing for earnings reports of big companies and central bank decisions this week that could shake markets.
uncertain
that → say → markets
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.1% to 62,602.86 and the Kospi in Seoul dropped 1.1% to 5,494.29.
asserted
Kospi → slip → 5,494.29
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng edged 0.2% higher to 23,137.93, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.4% to 3,673.83.
asserted
index → edge → 3,673.83
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.2% to 8,782.30.
asserted
S&P → shed → 8,782.30
The price of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 1.3% to $110.23 a barrel.
asserted
price → fall → 110.23
U.S. benchmark crude sank 1.7% to $101.52 a barrel.
asserted
crude → sink → 101.52
On Friday, the price for a barrel of Brent crude rose 3.1% to settle at $116.72, its highest level since June 2022.
asserted
price → rise → June
It has surged from less than $97 since early October.
asserted
It → surge → October
Also Friday, the S&P 500 fell 0.5%, adding to its decline from a day before and logging its second-straight weekly loss.
asserted
S&P → fall → loss
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.2%, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2% after giving up a modest gain.
asserted
composite → fall → gain
Several AI-related companies rallied, helping ease some of the impact from the broader market slide.
asserted
companies → relate → slide
Micron Technology rose 2.5%, Intel gained 1.7%, Microsoft added 0.7%, and Advanced Micro Devices closed 1.7% higher.
asserted
Devices → rise → %
Stocks that have benefited from the frenzy over AI have been buffeted by waves of selling as investors fret over whether their high prices are justified.
asserted
prices → benefit → selling
Many of those companies have been borrowing to fund investments in AI technology and high interest rates are making those loans more expensive.
asserted
loans → borrow → technology
Market players are closely watching corporate earnings, looking for a better sense of whether those investments are likely to pay off.
asserted
investments → watch → sense
Several influential AI-related companies report their latest financial results this week, including Google’s parent, Alphabet, along with Microsoft and Amazon.
asserted
companies → relate → Microsoft
Big Tech now has to show that the spending binge still deserves the market’s faith,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
asserted
Innes → have → commentary
“Investors want proof now.
asserted
Investors → want → proof
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,” he said.
asserted
he → want → furnace
Industrial companies had some of the biggest losses.
asserted
companies → have → losses
Caterpillar fell 2.4%.
asserted
Caterpillar → fall → ?
American Express slumped 3.7%, one of several financial stocks that lost ground, despite reporting profits for its most recent quarter that beat analysts’ forecasts.
asserted
that → slump → forecasts
The company did announce its first major job cuts in roughly a decade.
asserted
company → announce → decade
Treasury yields in the U.S. edged higher following sharp drops on Thursday.
asserted
yields → edge → Thursday
Yields have been rising globally, partly over worries about governments taking on too much debt.
asserted
governments → rise → debt
Inflation also remains a concern and is stubbornly well above 3% in the U.S.
asserted
Inflation → remain → U.S.
That prompted the Federal Reserve to raise its benchmark interest rate at its last meeting in an effort to cool inflation.
asserted
That → prompt → inflation
Wall Street expects the central bank to hold rates steady at its meeting this week, but is leaning heavily toward another rate hike in December.
asserted
bank → expect → December
This week also will bring several big economic updates, including the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation.
asserted
week → bring → inflation
The personal consumption expenditures index, or PCE, is expected to show that inflation rose at a 3.7% rate in September, sharply above the Fed’s 2% target.
asserted
inflation → expect → target
The U.S. war with Iran has severely cut the world’s oil supply, driving energy prices higher and fueling a sharp jump in the cost of everything from gasoline to food and clothes.
asserted
war → cut → food
In other dealings early Monday, the dollar slipped to 156.79 Japanese yen from 156.99 yen.
asserted
dollar → slip → yen
The Aporia
