ASX 200 likely to fall; Wall Street mixed

The Australian share market is expected to begin Monday on a lower note on Monday following a mixed session on Wall Street Friday night. The shares are likely to fall following Wall Street losses while China's aggressive reaction to a resurgence of COVID-19 cases could further dampen sentiment.

According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200  would open 9 points or 0.1% lower. The benchmark ASX 200 index rose 0.25% to 7,259.5 points.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones rose 0.45%, the S&P 500 fell marginally, and the NASDAQ dipped 0.5%.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.15% on the day but added about 1.5% for the week. In Europe, the Stoxx 50 rose 0.01%, the FTSE surged 0.3%, the CAC gained0.08%, and the DAX ended 0.01% higher.

On the other hand, the dollar index rose 0.21%, while the euro was down 0.07% to US$1.0401.

Bond yields

U.S. Treasury yields gave up earlier gains after already falling on Wednesday after the Fed's November meeting minutes indicated agreement that rate hiking could be slowed.

Benchmark 10-year notes were down 1.5 basis points to 3.694%, from 3.709% late on Wednesday.

• The 30-year bond was last up 1.3 basis points to yield 3.7554%, from 3.742%.
• The 2-year note was last down 1.4 basis points to yield 4.469%, from 4.483%.

Oil prices fall

Oil prices fell on Friday in thin market liquidity, closing a week marked by worries about Chinese demand and haggling over a Western price cap on Russian oil.

• WTI crude futures settled down 2.13% at US$76.28 per barrel.
• Brent settled at US$83.63, down US$1.71, or 2% on the day.

Gold prices flat

Gold prices retreated after the precious metal posted gains in the previous three sessions on expectations the US Federal Reserve would scale back its rate-hiking stance.

• Spot gold dropped 0.1% to US$1,753.61 an ounce.
• US gold futures gained 0.40% to US$1,751.90 an ounce.