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Current Futures: Dow +23.00, S&P +2.90, NASDAQ +2.75
The European markets opened for trading and declined on light volume, even though Asian markets closed higher and U.S. futures are holding in the green.
With the U.S. and U.K. markets closed this Monday, the European markets are trading on low volume, barely moving. The release calendar is clear of any important releases today, except for the German IFO Business Climate which came in lower than expected.
Only a few important events of note happened during the Asian session. The major indexes from the region closed higher, led by the commodity markets. Asian shares were pulled higher after PetroChina, the first company to bypass $1 trillion in market cap, announced that it would buy Singapore Petroleum Company, offering $1 billion for a 45.5% stake.
TheLFB.com Trade Team notes that this may be the start of an important trend in the global economy, Chinese companies starting to buy foreign competitors. By doing so, Chinese businesses would reduce their competitors, while China re-imposes itself as a world leader, something that it has tried very hard to do lately.
However, TheLFB-Forex.com Trade Team also said that China tries to find alternative ways to invest its ever-growing foreign reserves. Until now, Chinese officials invested their funds into U.S. Treasuries, reaching as much as 1/4 of the total amount of U.S. debt issued. However, lately, Chinese officials have started to complain about the status of the U.S. dollar, threatening to reduce their dollar holdings. Buying foreign companies could be an important alternative, especially U.S. and European businesses.
Overnight, the Japanese Nikkei gained 121.19 points (1.31%) to 9,347.00. The Australian S&P/Asx fell 23.70 points (0.63%) to 3,737.90. The German Dax declined 40.85 points (0.83%) to 4,877.90.
Crude oil for June delivery was recently trading at $61.90 per barrel, higher by $0.20.
Gold for June delivery was recently trading lower by $2.30 to $956.60.
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