Europe Asia News

In the new week, investors will closely monitor oil prices as protests in Iran enter their third week. According to a U.S.-based rights group, more than 500 people have lost their lives in the protests. According to multiple reports published on Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump is considering options to intervene in Iran.

Brent crude oil futures reversed course, falling to $63.05 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 0.49% to $58.83 per barrel.

Spot gold prices surged more than 1.6% to $4,581.29 per ounce, reaching an all-time high. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.38%.

South Korea’s Kospi Index rose 1.11%, while the small-cap Kosdaq Index climbed 0.96%. After analysts raised their price target for South Korean logistics company Hyundai Glovis, the company’s shares jumped by as much as 8%.

Boston Dynamics, the robot maker of which Hyundai Glovis owns an 80% stake, announced last Monday that it had formed a partnership with Google DeepMind to integrate artificial intelligence into humanoid robots.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and mainland China’s CSI 300 Index opened slightly below the flat line. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. On Sunday, Hirofumi Yoshimura, a coalition partner of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, said that Takaichi could call for early general elections.

In the United States, the S&P 500 closed up 0.65% on Friday at 6,966.28 points, setting a new record. It also reached an all-time high during the session.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.81% to 23,671.35 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 237.96 points, or 0.48%, to close at 49,504.07 points, marking a new closing record.