Asian stocks were slightly higher on Tuesday, despite concerns about weak data from China, as the MSCI index gained 0.5 percent, the Hang Seng index looked towards modest gains and the Australia benchmark index was up 0.4 percent in early trade.
"It's been an incredibly quiet start to the week as most currencies remain rangebound but don't let this sense of calm fool you as markets may be poised to explode," Stephen Innes, a senior trader at OANDA, was quoted as saying in reference to a multitude of macro-economic risks on the horizon. U.S. markets ended slightly lower on Monday, with the dollar index falling 0.1 percent to 97.7 and receding from the seven-month highs reached in the prior trading session.
A Look at Oil
Oil prices remained stable on Monday and in Tuesday’s early session, despite Iran’s public questioning of OPEC’s proposed production cut. Iran is the third country to question OPEC’s policy proposal, following Venezuela and Iraq. OPEC’s plan is slated to be finalized when the organization meets at the end of November in Vienna. It is possible, however, that continued bickering between member nations about each country’s production may delay the decision or thwart it entirely.
A report published last week shows a wide discrepancy in September’s production levels reported by Iraq and Venezuela as compared to the levels provided by OPEC’s secretariat. Venezuelan officials have also disputed OPEC’s contentions, claiming that they don’t take into account a specific type of heavy oil produced in the region. In the past, Iran and Iraq have received exemptions from OPEC’s general policies in order to help the rebound from past sanctions, though these exemptions have become increasingly contended by other member states.