LONDON: European and US stock markets mostly rose on Monday with traders assessing company earnings and looking ahead to an ECB rate decision and UK budget later in the week.
Asian markets closed mixed following last week's gains, with investors keeping a worried eye on a fresh Covid outbreak in China that could drag on the already stuttering economy.
Oil prices pressed higher, with Brent at a three-year high above $86 per barrel, while WTI rose above $85 for the first time since October 2014.
The latest gains for crude come after Saudi Arabia said OPEC and other major producers would be cautious in lifting output despite surging demand, warning that the pandemic still posed a threat to the outlook.
In foreign exchange, Turkey's lira tumbled more than one percent to a record low against the dollar after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for the expulsion of ambassadors from 10 countries, including Germany and the United States, who had appealed for the release of a jailed civil society leader.
The euro dropped with data showing Germany's business climate worsened in October for the fourth month in a row, as supply chain woes weighed on the country's export-driven economy.
European Central Bank policymakers meet on Thursday, with markets hoping for hints on when the ECB may start raising interest rates or taper its massive pandemic-fuelled stimulus programme.
In Britain, the government unveils its latest tax and spend plans on Wednesday.
Long-running worries about inflation meanwhile continued to cast a shadow over trading, though a healthy batch of earnings has tempered those concerns in the past couple of weeks and Wall Street has scaled new summits.
"Records were set last week by the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average. More could be coming this week, but there is a big earnings hill to climb if that is going to happen," said market analyst Patrick J. O'Hare at Briefing.com.
HSBC bank on Monday posted bumper earnings and plans to buy back shares.
HSBC announces surprise 74% rise in profits and $2 billion buyback
US tech titans including Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft provide their own earnings updates this week, which will be closely followed for an idea about what impact supply chain snarls and rising prices are having on their bottom lines.
Their forward guidance will also be of interest as businesses contemplate tighter central bank monetary policies.
News that troubled China Evergrande had paid interest due on a bond before Saturday's deadline provided a much-needed boost to market confidence, though it remains to be seen whether the property developer can meet obligations on other notes due before the end of the year.
Chinese markets also got some extra cheer from Evergrande saying it had resumed work on more than 10 projects.
But there were concerns about the property sector after reports that China plans to expand pilot property tax reforms as part of a drive against real estate speculation.
The latest Delta variant outbreak in mainland China meanwhile comes just over three months before the country hosts the Winter Olympics.
The latest spike has forced authorities to reimpose strict containment measures, but there are fears of a wider lockdown that would weigh on economic growth.
Key figures around 1330 GMT
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 7,228.94 points
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 15,596.62
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 6,723.60
EURO STOXX 50: UP less than 0.1 percent at 4,191.92
New York - Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 35,737.82
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 percent at 28,600.41 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 26,132.03 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.8 percent at 3,609.86 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1609 from $1.1648 at 2050 GMT on Friday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3764 from $1.3759
Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.36 pence from 84.70 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 113.74 from 113.66 yen
Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.0 percent at $86.40 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.8 percent at $85.24 per barrel
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