In European Equity Markets stocks lost ground Monday, falling alongside markets throughout Europe and Asia after North Korea conducted another test of its nuclear capabilities. The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.4 percent, led by a 0.7 percent fall in banks. The FTSE 100 index moved down 0.4 percent to end at 7,411.47. Top advancers within the index included Fresnillo PLC and Randgold Resources Ltd, rising 2.9 percent and 2 percent, respectively. Decliners within the FTSE 100 included Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered PLC as its shares fell 1.5 percent.

In Currency Markets the euro clung to most of its recent gains on Monday while the dollar struggled against a broad swathe of currencies and its trade-weighted basket approached a 2-1/2 year low. The euro rose half a percent against the dollar to $1.19 and not far away from a 2-1/2 year high above $1.20 hit last Tuesday. The dollar, down 0.3 percent against the basket of currencies used to measure its broader strength, fell 0.6 percent to 109.60 yen, having been as low as 109.22 and off a whole yen from late on Friday. The Swiss franc rose 0.8 percent to 0.9579 per dollar. The Australian dollars remained weaker, with Aussie down 0.20 percent at $0.7951, while Kiwi rose 0.21 percent to $0.7172.

In Commodities Markets benchmark U.S. gasoline prices fell on Monday to pre-Hurricane Harvey levels as oil refineries and pipelines in the U.S. Gulf Coast slowly resumed activity, easing supply concerns. Brent crude oil futures were flat at $52.75, paring earlier losses after a powerful North Korean nuclear test triggered a shift away from crude markets to assets perceived to be safer, such as gold. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 34 cents at $47.63 barrel as U.S. demand, hit by reduced refinery activity since Harvey made landfall on Aug. 25, recovered. NYMEX gasoline futures were down 3.2 percent at $1.6916 a gallon. Safe-haven gold was up 0.8 percent at $1,336 an ounce, having risen to $1,339.47, its highest in nearly a year.

In U.S., Equity Markets are closed for the Labor Day holiday. 

In Bond Markets the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield touched its lowest level since mid-November on Monday amid tensions stemming from the Korean Peninsula, although caution before a coming 10-year auction limited the yield’s decline. The 10-year JGB yield stood unchanged at minus 0.005 percent after touching the 10-month low of minus 0.010 percent earlier in the day. Yields on German government bonds, regarded as among the world’s lowest-risk assets, fell slightly. Benchmark 10-year yields were down 1 basis point at 0.37 percent while two-year yields decreased a similar amount to minus 0.76 percent, their lowest since April.