The dollar strengthened and Asian stock markets followed suit on Monday after the FBI announced that it stood by its original recommendation not to press charges against U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Dow futures spiked 220 points after the FBI’s announcement following last week’s market blood bath, the longest losing streak in nearly 36 years, which was fueled largely by election fears. The dollar rose 1.2 percent to hit 104.255 yen on Monday, while the euro lost 0.6 percent against the dollar and fell to $1.1077. The peso rose against the dollar to 18.6837, an indication that traders are preparing for a victory by the democrats.
Monday’s market upswing came during a fairly thin trading day, as traders are already stepping aside in advance of Tuesday’s election. The Shanghai composite added 0.26 percent and the Shenzhen composite gained 0.136 percent while the Korean Kospi gained 0.64 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also gained 048 percent on Monday, though property stocks plummeted nearly 5 percent after the government announced another round of policy tightening to help stop the rising housing prices.
Commodities Market
Oil prices bounced on Monday as well, with last week’s declines creating new buying opportunities. The oil markets suffered six straight days of declines following renewed tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which call into question the ability of OPEC to create a production policy in its upcoming meeting later this month. Brent crude oil futures hit $46.08 on Monday, up just over one percent. WIT crude futures gained 1.3 percent, to $44.63 per barrel. In contrast, both gold and silver prices lost one percent during Monday’s Asian session.