The sun is setting over oil platforms and container ships.
The images are from the same company.
The drop in oil prices to six-week lows helped alleviate concerns about inflationary pressures and helped to ease the pressure on government bond yields.
US stock futures gained, signaling a stronger start to trading later in the day when investors will get a look at weekly employment data. The S&P 500 futures were up, the Nasdaq 100 futures were up and the Dow Jones futures were up.
Japan's Nikkei initially gained after it was reported that the government will add another $490 billion to the economy. The index was down by just 3%.
Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng fell after Evergrande shares dropped. The Chinese property developer booked a $1 billion loss on the firesale of its stake in the streaming service.
The Stoxx 600 was broadly changed in Europe. The region has become the epicenter of the next wave of Covid-19 infections, and investors have punished the stock market. In the last week, the Bel 20 fell between 1% and 1.8%, while the IBEX fell between 1% and 2%.
"The fragmented nature of some of the moves we are seeing suggests that investors are encouraged in some part by the ability of companies to absorb some of the increases being seen through their supply chains, but there is rising uneasiness about how long they will be able to do so."
"For all the increasing concern about rising inflationary pressure, bond yields slid back yesterday as markets try to establish how much of the current inflation surge is persistent, and how much is transitory, as well as the wider question of when the first increase in rates is likely to happen," he said.
China said it would release some of its strategic reserves. The US administration is pressing Japan and other major energy consumers to join it in coordinating a stockpile release as a means of lowering crude prices.
West Texas Intermediate futures were down by 3.0% to $77.33 a barrel.
"While a release from the SPR would only provide some short-term relief to the market, that may be all that is necessary, given the expectation that the global oil market could return to surplus as early as 1Q22," ING strategist Warren Patterson said.
Government bonds gained in price and pushed down yields. US 10-year Treasury notes were down 1 basis point at 1.596%, while German 10-year Bunds were down 2 basis points and UK 10-year gilt yields were down 3 basis points.
The weekly US jobless claims are expected to have risen by 263,000 in the week to November 6, following the prior week's 267,000 increase, according to Trading Economics.
First-time claims for unemployment have been at their lowest since the start of the Pandemic last year. Even as inflation has soared to 31 year highs and daily case rates have risen, the US economy is still able to create jobs.
Business Insider has an original article.
