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• European stocks were mostly mixed on Monday morning as investors digested different political events.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was flat with the various sectors taking different directions.
Looking at individual stocks, Vopak led the gains in Europe. It rose 5 percent after reporting higher-than-expected results. Siemens healthcare also jumped 3.7 percent on its latest earnings release.
European banks were under particular scrutiny after the latest results of stress tests. Barclays and Lloyds had the lowest capital ratios in the adverse scenario. According to KPMG, this was due to new accounting rules and high levels of unsecured debt - examples of which may include credit card loans. Both stocks were basically flat shortly after the market open.
"The UK banks fared the worst in the test due to macro risks associated with Brexit, but the results do not inform their capital requirements with the BoE (Bank of England) publishing its stress test results on 5 Dec," Jefferies said in a research note on Monday.
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• Asian stocks skidded on Monday as fears of faster rate hikes in the United States and uncertainty around the Sino-U.S. trade war deterred investment in riskier assets, while sterling briefly jumped to a two-week high on hopes of an orderly Brexit.
Markets are expected to be skittish ahead of U.S. congressional midterm elections on Tuesday.
Opinion polls show a strong chance that the Democratic Party could win control of the House of Representatives after two years of wielding no practical political power in Washington, with President Donald Trump’s Republican Party likely to hold the Senate.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS lost 1.4 percent on Monday, slipping back towards last week’s 1-1/2 year trough of 505.61 points.
• Japan’s Nikkei fell on Monday morning as budding hopes of a resolution to the U.S.-China trade war faded, while shares of index-heavy Fast Retailing tumbled after dismal monthly sales data.
The Nikkei share average dropped 1.6 percent to 21,898.99, pulling back from a two-week high on Friday when investors cheered signs that Beijing and Washington were seeking to resolve their trade row.
• Stocks in China ended their four sessions of gaining streak on Monday as participants awaited the outcome of the U.S. mid-term elections, which may change the White House’s policy direction on trade.
The main Shanghai stock market ended 0.4 percent weaker at 2665.43, while its main blue-chip Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 index closed down 0.8 percent on the day.
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