(Kitco News) – World stock markets were mostly weaker overnight, on corrective pullbacks from recent gains that have put many stock indexes at record or multi-year highs. U.S. stock indexes are narrowly mixed in early U.S. electronic trading. Focus so far this week is on corporate earnings reports.
Gold prices are solidly lower in pre-U.S.-session trading. The geopolitical scene has been quieter the past couple weeks and that's allowed world risk appetite to uptick, which is bearish for safe-haven gold.
In overnight news, consumer prices in the U.K. hit a five-year high in September, at up 3.0%, year-on-year. That's well above the Bank of England's target inflation rate of 2.0% annual inflation. The BOE is expected to raise its interest rate slightly in November.
Meantime, the Euro zone reported its September consumer price index at up 0.4% from August and up 1.5%, year-on-year. Those numbers were right in line with market expectations.
Nymex crude prices are trading modestly up Tuesday morning and are just above $52.00 a barrel. The other key "outside market" sees the U.S. dollar index higher.
China on Wednesday starts its twice-a-decade Party Congress meetings, in which major economic and cultural planning initiatives are laid out for the next five years. Traders and investors will keep a close watch for any pronouncements coming out of those meetings.
U.S. economic data due for release Tuesday includes the weekly Johnson Redbook and Goldman Sachs retail sales reports, import and export prices, industrial production and capacity utilization, Treasury international capital data, and the NAHB housing market index.
By Jim Wyckoff, contributing to Kitco News; [email protected]